Balance

My mom has a row of 5x7 pictures going up her stairwell of each of her grandchildren.  That's a lot of them.  While it's fun to have, it can be a bit awkward to arrange (and rearrange when another baby is born).  When my sister, the artist, returned home from her mission, she took on rearranging the picture wall to be more aesthetically pleasing.  It seemed just too crowded, but you can't just put less pictures up when you have that many grandkids.  My sister asked my mom for 8x10 frames, one for each family, to add to the wall.  Adding seemed exactly the wrong thing to do to an already crowded wall, but it looked amazing when it was done.  How was it that adding actually made it work better?  It gave the eye a bigger space to rest on as it scanned the wall, making it seem less busy

Life as a mom is like that.  Life feels crowded and packed full.  There is just too much.  While it may seem logical to just cut things out, it is not possible.  You can't just announce to your family that they can only eat one meal per day to reduce your work load.  But, by adding something, you can make it fit a little better.

What do you add?  Well, an article I read this morning said that it could even be adding another child that reduces the stress! http://www.today.com/moms/mom-survey-says-three-most-stressful-number-kids-6C9774150  (Side note: 72% of moms are stressed about how stressed they are?  We need to get over that.) 

Okay, so maybe adding another child isn't the right way to reduce stress for you (or maybe it is), but is there something else that is?

Someone approached me yesterday and commented on how they are amazed I can handle my kids and going back to school.  In reality, I handle my kids because I went back to school.  School is my 8X10 frame.  It added just the right balance.

What is in your 8x10 frame?  What is the missing piece in making life flow better?