One Little Word 2011: Balance

As a part time working, mum of 2 with a husband who commutes to London each day, I definitely feel that my life is in need of balance. I spend a good majority of the working week alone with 2 toddlers and waiting (sometimes not so patiently) for daddy to get home and relieve me. Part of that week is spent having some adult time at work (yes, some days teaching 30 six year olds feels like a breeze compared with being at home plus I get to eat lunch and have a hot drink- bonus!) and the remainder is spent between playgroups, play dates, housework and other chores. Occasionally, I may get a few minutes to myself to do nice things by myself (such as go to the toilet, have a shower, drink a cup of coffee, read a magazine or simply blog!) but these are simply snippets in my day and are often interrupted before I've had time to truly savour them. As a result, once the terrible two are asleep, I try and make the most of what time I have left of an evening although I'm then aware I need to eat, finish off work for school, try and be a good wife (*not necessarily in that order!) etc etc as well as find the time for the things I enjoy. Often it feels like my life is just a rush from one activity to another with no time to simply slow down and enjoy what's going on in that particular moment.

From this situation, I decided that Ali Edwards 'One Little Word' class was definitely for me and that the word that was calling me was BALANCE.

My life NEEDS balance. I need to find a balance between my roles as mum, wife, teacher and just plain, Lou. I need balance between work and home. Balance between chores and play (both with my kids and doing things I enjoy such as scrapping). Balance in my diet- no more high sugar, high caffeine living. Balance between making time for myself and making time for my husband. The list could go on.


When defining what I mean by balance, the following seems the most appropriate:

• Balance noun mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behaviour, judgement etc.
• Balance verb to be equal or proportinate to and to estimate the weight or relative importance of (How I love this one! Relative importance could be a real mind opener for me)

Looking for synonyms (words that have a similar meaning) I want to invite equity, harmony (love this word too!), poise, self control and composure into my life.

I want to feel more in control, more relaxed and I'm really looking forward to the opportunities that BALANCE could bring to my life. Bring it on!!

What word have you chosen/could you choose as your word for 2011? Come and join me on this journey. More details at http://www.aliedwards.com/ :)