The give and take

I'm feeling the pull of life in so many directions these days... I feel the pull of my career sending me in so many different ways. I feel the pull of my children who need my time, attention, love and guidance. I feel the pull of my students who are looking for assistance and knowledge. I feel the pull of my husband who deserves my attention more than I give. (Can someone say "date night?") A warm day calls me outside to go for a run. Kid activities force me out of the newsroom fast enough to take them to swimming, soccer, dance, guitar, piano...Nap please!The give and take is hitting me hard lately. I love the many incredible worlds I am in - journalism, social media, parenting, advocacy, special needs... But things have a give and take. The first thing I've allowed to give is sleep. I average five hours. I need to change that. We often eat quick meals - but I try really hard for fresh food. My house is tidy at times, but there's a lot of dust and I can't keep up with the dog hair. I'd love to find a Roomba to fix that. I put the kids to bed each night... And it just seems to take longer than I'd like. But I choose to take time I'd spend on this site or work or making new connections to cuddle and read and chat right before bed.My give and take has been really intense lately. I don't want to stop anything I'm doing... but I also realize I can't keep up with this pace. People tell me "I don't know how you do it" all of the time. And to be honest, I think I've hit my "I can do it" wall. The problem is I don't know what to remove to lighten my load. So I'm planning to spend some time thinking and plotting about bringing my sanity back. I'm going to build a mind map of my life and priorities and compare it to a mind map of my responsibilities. I'm going to see how I can merge them a little better so I am happy and not overwhelmed.I'm super thankful for friends and family who are there to remind me to take a nap or go out and have fun from time to time. I'm also thankful for Randy who knows when I'm feeling this way and reminds me to go to bed, eat some food and relax. I'm going to do the best I can to not let the current stress prevent me from keep up the pace of stories and connections with you here on this site. But please, bear with me. This space is precious to me... If I'm not posting as much as usual, it isn't because I disappeared. It's because I need to figure out a way to make sure I can keep contributing to Born Just Right without feeling stressed or overwhelmed while working on my job(s) that pay(s) some of the bills!