Balance

How do you balance a six pack?  I have been asked this question a few times… more like…

how do you do it?

there’s no way I could do it

you sure do have your hands full…

Well, the answer is…

How do you not?  Yes, you could do it and you would do it – if it were your path to travel.  Yes, my hands are full, and I thank God my arms are not empty.

I have had my moments, my days, of sheer madness… when, at the end of the day, I actually feel myself buzzing.  When, I don’t want to hear one more word from one more person.  Haven’t all mothers had this feeling of complete mental fullness, of over-stimulation to the point of vibration… the feeling that it really has to be 5 o’clock somewhere? It is right here.  It’s 5 o’clock (even at noon) and I have a six pack.  A whining, bickering, question-asking, demanding six pack.

At the end of the day, that wonderful time of utter silence, when those six precious heads gently indent  sleep beckoning pillows… I feel the buzzing come to a sudden… stop.

The silence is almost startling.  I realize how full my days are… how full my house is… how full I am.

I do enjoy the silence… the silence, for now, is brief.

I have spent a decade learning how to balance one addition after another… until the six pack was complete.  It’s the act of balance… that’s where the learning lives.  That’s where the lessons are learned… patience, strength, wisdom, forgiveness, joy, love.

How do you balance a six pack?

Believe that you are right where you are supposed to be

Accept that you will mess up ~ every day ~ and try again

Let them make mistakes ~ and watch you make mistakes

Ask for forgiveness ~ show them how to give it

Nourish their hearts, minds, bodies and souls (and mama’s too)

Communicate ~ the good, the bad, and the ugly

Embrace every moment (even the “5 o’clock somewhere” ones) ~ and every little soul   ~ every day

 

Balance the six beautiful gifts, with arms wide open…

in these long days…

of these too short years.

 

Proverbs 22:6

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.