I am a terrible juggler. Like in literally juggling. I cannot keep all 3 balls in the air at one time. I am not sure if it is hand eye coordination or lack of focus, but it is not my thing. Good thing too, since there hasn’t been much work around for clowns lately!
Now when you talk about metaphorical juggling (home, work, volunteering, side work, helping friends, running kids, and on and on), I’ve got that down. I became a professional metaphorical juggler years ago. I was really proud of that for a while. Then, you know what I figured out? I was tired. Too many balls in the air and it is exhausting keeping them all going. When the kids were little, I was the room mom, on the PTO, sold cooking items for a direct selling company, ran fundraisers, and worked full time. I am not complaining because I loved it all, but I hadn’t mastered the word ‘no’ yet.
Life isn’t a race to see who is the busiest. No one wins in that race. By filling every minute of our days with ‘stuff’ we miss the important things. I love sitting and listening to my boys tell me about their days. My oldest, who is 16, will sit and talk to me for hours. My youngest, 14 years old, talks about his future and college. If I never say ‘no’ to more duties and more commitments, I’d loose that time with them. A balanced life requires prioritizing. That is the reason I’m writing this blog at 5am on a Monday morning instead of Sunday like I usually do. I said ‘no’ to the blog yesterday, and ‘yes’ to the family.
Don’t get me wrong. We still need to help our fellow man, be kind to one another, and step up when we can. We also, for our own sanity and well being, need to know when we just can’t. Know when too much is just too much. I always feel like I’m most productive when I am busy, BUT when things get too much then everything I’m working on suffers. You’ve heard “Jack of all trades, master of none”? Yeah, that is a hard lesson to learn.
So don’t be afraid to say ‘no’. Keep that priority list in your head and know your limits. I don’t want to win the ‘Busiest woman in Shelby county’ award. Someone else can have it. I’d rather win the ‘Happiest woman in Shelby county’ award. I hear there are multiple spots for first place in that category.
In the spirit of PTO and Room Moms, here is my favorite party punch recipe.
Keep it Peachy, Friends!
-Charity
Party Punch
- 1 carton Orange Sherbet (or another solid color. DO NOT use rainbow, it is ugly)
- 1 Pineapple juice (tall can)
- 2 – 2 Liters of Sprite, 7UP, or Ginger ale
Put sherbet in punch bowl, Pour 1/2 pineapple juice in and 1-2 liter. Let sherbet melt some. Taste. Add more pineapple juice and Sprite as needed.
