Surprised!

I’ve had a lot of surprises in my life—some of them awesome, and others not very good at all. I’m not somebody who usually enjoys a surprise, although I do like to receive an unexpected gift every now and then. Generally, I like when things are predictable. I like plans, routine, and lists, and I like to keep a calendar with all our appointments on it. I like to know what’s going to happen.

However, "predictable" around here lately hasn’t been all that great: Daniel has been crying a lot, Jaymz has been working long hours, and I’ve been feeling a little too tired and worn out to cope effectively a lot of the time.

So imagine my surprise when both of my parents visited this week (one after the other, not at the same time) and I enjoyed a whole lot of unexpected things. Among others: my kid wasn’t crying all the time, my house got cleaned (not by me), my mother-in-law is planning to come visit in a few weeks, we ate some delicious food (some that I didn't prepare and some that I did), and Daniel has had more than one nap that lasted longer than two hours.

I don’t know if this new trend with Daniel will continue, but I’m certainly grateful for the happier times we’ve had recently. I know my home won’t stay clean forever, but it’s definitely easier to manage the small messes when they’re not part of a seemingly insurmountable larger mess.

I feel like this is one of the keys to balance in my life: when things get too far out of whack, I need to do something big (and sometimes ask for help to do it) in order to make everything right again. Only then am I better able to handle—enjoy, even—the ebb and flow.

Do you like surprises? Why or why not? What’s one good surprise you’ve had lately? I’d love to hear about it!

---

"Live a balanced life—learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some."
Robert Fulghum

This post is part of my series on balance, inspired by the October Carnival of Natural Parenting. Without balance, we feel burned out, we lose perspective...we fall down. How do you find balance in your life? What does it mean to you to be in balance? Does it come easily to you or do you have to be more intentional about it?

I'd love to host your guest post for my series on balance. Contact me at anktangle (at) gmail (dot) com if you're interested in participating!