THE BALANCED LIFE

I’m not yet halfway to finishing THE BALANCED LIFE by Alan Loy McGinnis but it has already affirmed me in a lot of ways.

Last weekend, my son and I, together with his beloved Manang May-May, were in Cebu for my nephew’s first birthday celebration. I was up to my eyeballs in the office, but I had to go the extra mile just to fulfill a promise I made way before, to my sister Bebang.

A weekend before that, we were in Iloilo to see my husband who called days before, begging me to go and visit him as he missed me and baby terribly. Making these kinds of trip means hitting the sack by midnight — someone has to pack, and with a-year-and-a-half in tow, packing almost means packing THE WHOLE HOUSE – and of course, it also means waking up at the wee hours! Oh well, not to mention missing a few hours, even a day, of work because almost always, the stay has to linger until Monday. By this, being a ‘dedicated’ (well, kind of) career woman, I almost always feel discontented about myself. I hate leaving a pile of work at the office and returning not to the same pile, but an increased one this time. And by the way, did I already mention how much these trips cost me?

I’ve always thought that I would only be either the best wife and mother, or a successful career woman. As a working mother, I miss a lot of things and one of those is the joy of taking care of Gabriel. Carrying him from the gate to our house is already a treat. And of course I want to learn how to cook, to sew, to put on some curtains, to plant some flowers and veggies. Sometimes I even can’t believe myself for resenting the fact that I have to wake up at 6am and prepare for work.

But this book has opened my mind to a new realization and I’m right now so happily basking on it. ‘One can live magnificently if one knows how to work and how to love’, as Tolstoy said. Little did I know, I have been doing the right things so far:

1. Bathing my son before going to bed.
2. Bringing him to my workplace once in a while (this will show him what I’m doing and that I’m doing it for him, he will see how much I am achieving for him and it will also make him a proud son)
3. The two consecutive trips I mentioned above, was also an achievement, little did I know, thanks to this book of course. I compromised with my boss regarding our office schedule and just did a few days overtime work, to compensate my absencens. (a few days of going home late is nothing compared to a weekend with my husband and son, compared to my sister’s joy of knowing that we made our way through all these, just to be with her and her family in such a special occasion)

These are just a few among other things that already gave me a tap on the back. I guess I will be blogging more as I go through the remaining chapters.