What Does It Look Like? - Work/life Balance

What Does It Look Like? - Work/Life Balance

AS I WRITE this morning, I am completely overwhelmed. Standing in the middle of my three-ring circus of family, work, and personal pursuits, I have moved from my favorite role of ringmaster (I love being in charge) to the lady riding bareback on the white pony (preparing for a huge client presentation) . . . while performing a courageous act with the tigers (completing the manuscript for my book) . . . in my clown suit (while babysitting Ava). Before noon today I will have performed every role in my personal crazy circus. And I love it.

Loving the fact that I’m overwhelmed probably seems counterintuitive—or just sick. But for those of us who have learned what work/life balance is, it makes perfect sense. And this is what I want Ava to see: that work/life balance doesn’t mean sacrificing things as much as it means loving the acts we’re allowed to play. Work/life balance is not something you do or don’t do; it’s about the enthusiasm with which you greet your roles.

Shauna was six and her brother, Scott, was three when I worked two part-time jobs and took sixteen-hour semester loads in college. Complicating the situation was the terms of my academic scholarship, which allowed me only one B per year. I was focused, driven, and super-organized.

My schedule was as perfectly timed as the finest trapeze artist’s—up at 5:00 a.m. and to bed at midnight. In between my two jobs we carpooled, did homework and housework, and because money was very tight, cooked all meals from scratch. For early-evening fun, we often jumped on our trampoline—until I pinched a nerve in my back doing a flip. Yes, I was a walking, talking lunatic.

But I wouldn’t trade one minute of that exhausting life stage. Why? Because I had something to be enthusiastic about. I loved my role as mother. I loved my role as student. And I loved my roles as teacher’s aide and piano teacher. Were those days hard? Yes, of course. But I softened my mental load by spending more time celebrating my life at that moment than I did lamenting about how hard tomorrow would be.

And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past. (Ecclesiastes 5:19-20)

Work/life balance? My enthusiasm made me immune to the concept.