Balancing

One of the exercises that we do in the park is a three-way balance: standing on one leg with the other leg and arms outstretched and, if possible, closing your eyes and trying to stay upright.  The balance improves core stability.  My balance has never been very good, I find it difficult to stand on two feet with my eyes closed!  When we do this balance I don't close my eyes but I keep practising with my eyes open and one day I will close them.  I will probably topple very quickly but I'm sure that in time I will be able to manage a few seconds.


Being a mother of two children is also a balancing act.  I try to balance the attention that I give them, make sure I am handing out cuddles to the older one as well as the baby, have time with each child on their own and with them together.  The girls themselves are like weights on a set of scales as I assess at each moment who wants or needs me more, is it the toddler upset with teething pain or the baby crying for a cuddle?  Should I put the toddler down for a nap and close the door on the fussing baby for a few minutes or try to settle the baby first and hope I can do it quickly before the toddler changes her mind about sleeping?


I hope I will soon have enough confidence in standing on one leg to have the courage to close my eyes and see what happens.  I'm also practising the parental balancing act but this exercise will never be perfected, I will just have to keep my eyes open to   the ever-changing needs of each member of my family and hope that I develop the confidence to trust that I will make the right decisions about their care and well-being.