Sometimes you have to let go

I am going to step back for a bit and decide if I still want to do this.

Life is busy, and I feel like I'm spending too much of it in front of a screen.

There is a very good chance I will end up bored out of my mind. In which case, I will be back.

For now, I am taking a hiatus. Telling myself it's only 10 days. Hoping, actually, that it's only 10 days.

But time will tell.

I need to see what my BalancingMama life is all about without a blog.





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I will still be chatting on Twitter and visiting my favorite blogs.... I still want to connect.
@BalancingMama
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"A careful woman" (reminder for moms)

I wish I could say I wrote this, but I did not. I came across it recently and it just stuck. It haunts me in a way, not like a regret or nightmare, but as a guardian angel reminding me to strive for my best:

"The Little One That Follows Me"

(author unknown)

A careful woman, I ought to be;
a little one follows me.
I do not dare to go astray,
for fear they'll go, the self-same way.

I cannot once escape their eyes,
whatever they see me do, they'll try.
Like me, they say, they're going to be,
that little one that follows me.

They think that I am good and fine;
believe in every work of mine.
The bad in me they must not see;
my life to them, must, an example be.

I must remember, as I go,
through summer's sun and winter's snow,
I'm building for the years to be,
for that little one that follows me.

It is not easy to strive for our best every day. Fatigue transforms our amusement into impatience, and impatience chases away our calm voice. No human is perfect; all we can do is try.

But try I will.
I have no other choice.

Wow, I sound adventurous!

Last week, I shared 22 things I have NOT done.

Linking up again to Mama Kat’s writer’s workshop, where I selected the prompt: “Write a list of 22 things you HAVE done”

Maybe I’ll reveal a few things that surprise you!

I have…

1. Gone parasailing

2. Danced in the rain

3. Experienced an earthquake

4. Bicycled down a volcano (Haleakela)

5. Tasted and dined at a winery in Tuscany

6. Climbed 2 miles up Mt. Ranier

7. Happily bounded 2 miles DOWN Mt. Ranier

8. Ridden Millennium Force at Cedar Rapids twice in a row

9. Viewed New York City from the Empire State Building

10. Climbed a glacier

11. Taken a photo of the Sistine Chapel ceiling

12. Eaten candy made from flowers (lavender and rose)

13. Earned a bachelor’s degree (magna cum laude, baby!)

14. Been to Disney World many times

15. Seen a grizzly bear mama with cubs in the wild

16. Survived a trip to Europe with a 14-month old

17. Posted on this blog 508 times. (It’ll be 2 years in January!)

18. Marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade

19. Fed animal cookies to a sheep

20. Been mama to bunnies, cats, and fish

21. Strolled the streets of Barcelona

22. Been a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a cousin, and a mom.

Oh yes, I know I am blessed.

Twelve thousand two-hundred days+

I have been around for over 12,210 days. I am 33 years old.

I have viewed lovely places and experienced a few adventures, but I have never…

1. Eaten food at Taco Bell

2. Traveled great distances by train

3. Jumped from an airplane

4. Been a dog owner

5. Hugged a boa constrictor

6. Worn a leather jumpsuit

(but this one can be yours for only $755 at Nieman Marcus)

7. Been struck by lightning

8. Eaten snails

9. Gone hang-gliding

10. Broken a bone

11. Visited Paris

12. Shaved my head

13. Watched a Disney movie in Minnesota

14. Burped my ABCs

15. Grown taller than 5’ 4”

16. Performed in a real circus

(only the preschool one when I was four)

17. Tickled an iguana

18. Soaked up sunshine in Tahiti

19. Visited Pinetrest.com

(but I guess I’d better check it out…)

20. Totaled a car

21. Climbed to the top of a palm tree

And #22…

I have never, ever lost an ounce of love for these two people:

I would give up all my wishes and past experiences for them.

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Writing prompt from Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop! Join in next week!

The time had come to live again

This week's Red Writing Hood Prompt asked us to write about a season of change. I decided to revisit my prior short fiction piece, The Runaway. I gave you the end before; here is a bit more to her story:

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The aches pulsing through her back were nothing compared to the lightning stabbing her brain.

What happened? Where am I?

She surveyed the small dark room. The furnishings were old and small. The thin and scratchy linens lay rumpled on the bed. An old clock ticked and tocked on the wall. As the moments passed, the fog within her brain cleared.

The priest. My bags.

He was kind. He listened. He picked her up, literally, from the depths of filth. He awakened her fighting spirit. He helped her to grasp her self-worth that had been long gone for all those months.

She had agreed to follow him, simply for the promise of a warm shower and clean clothes. She trudged through the open doorway and let out a gasp as a smiling, chubby woman made a beeline towards her.

“Welcome! We are so glad to have you here!”

What have I done?

The gentle clergyman remained by her side and placed a hand on her shoulder as she signed her name with a trembling hand. Her body was screaming to run, far and fast, back to the street. Only the slight pressure of human contact kept her moving forward.

He is right. I need this. I don’t want to die.

Once the ink was placed to paper, the chipper woman nimbly snatched her tattered bag.

“We have to keep your belongings, hon. Any substances we find will be destroyed.”

No! Okay. No! But I need them!

She shook her head and forced aside the greedy pleadings inside. She remained silent, eyes cast downward, and simply nodded.

Shower. Sleep. Eventually… home.

The time had come to live again.