Balancing Act
I had to laugh when I read that Leasa is a nurse, because nurses always have a way of figuratively slapping us up the side of our heads and saying "get up and get going".
And sometimes we need to hear that to shake us up out of our doldrums.
I've gone over some of my own entries from the past year and, although I've come a long way, thanks in no small part to this forum, I still have a ways to go.
As caregivers, there are always so many details that need to be done on a daily basis, that we have a hard time seeing the big picture. A couple of my own threads over time have been that I have no life now and I have no plans for the future after mom passes.
Well, I said to myself this morning, as Leasa would say to me, why the hell not?
Sometimes I laugh here and sometimes I cry and today I'm laughing.
It's a balancing act between all the details and the big picture. Not an easy task. And some of us here are swamped with details, with children, parents, spouses, jobs, home-life. It's amazing how many plates we can keep spinning on those sticks.
This year, I'm going to try to start living the bigger picture. Taking care of the details but not getting bogged down in them to the detriment of the more important things.
I will still have "The List" of things to do, but I want to have a deeper sense of satisfaction at the end of the day. I want to move forward in my life and not just be a hamster on the wheel.
So I challenge myself to this task. To balance the meaningful with the meaningless, the necessary with the unnecessary. How do I want to feel at the end of the day? When mom passes, I don't want to say, well, at least the list is done.
I want my life to continue to grow and develop just as my mom's will to the end. This isn't a pause in my life. This is a continuance. I've stepped out of one phase of my life and into this phase.
Sometimes it's easier to sink deeper and deeper into a hole, than it is to take charge of our lives, especially when we have a really good excuse. It's up to each of us to create the life we want for ourselves.
Acceptance of the "bad" and appreciation for the "good" will create a balanced energy within us that will keep us receptive for opportunity.
The fact that we are all here writing into this forum shows us that we are caring, loving, giving people. Let's extend that love and care to ourselves.
I wish us all the best in the new year year.