Giving Yourself Grace :: Dropping the Plastic Balls

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You often hear people compare their lives to balancing plates or juggling balls. The only issue with this analogy is that it puts everything we are balancing on the same spectrum.

I recently heard someone make this analogy and a light went off in my head. Not everything we have tossed in the air is on par with the others. There are glass balls and plastic balls in that juggling act. 

My kitchen how I like it: minimal dishes and early morning calm–that feeling of juggling it all perfectly. 

The plastic balls! Why on earth am I fighting to keep these plastic balls up in the air? 

As a busy mom, I am having to learn to drop the plastic balls. We recently moved, my husband changed careers, and my biggest adjustment is no longer living in the middle of a city like we did before. It takes me ages to get anywhere. 

New Life, Old Plastic Balls

I came into this new life with my all my old plastic balls. I was fighting to keep them up and going. 

  • Super clean house. 
  • Home-cooked meals every single night. 
  • My old laundry schedule. 
  • Forgetting things and not being able to easily run by the store. 
  • Being last minute about everything. 

Y’all, I made myself INSANE the first four months we lived here. I tried to live with my plastic balls way up in the air. What ended up happening was they all fell and hit me square in the face. 

Focus on the Glass Balls (the Important Things)

I had to focus on my glass balls–the important things–and reorganize my priorities. 

First up, dropping my cleaning plastic ball. 

I wanted a clean house, but my usual cleaning schedule wasn’t working. So I ditched my mop and asked Santa for one of those vacuum/mop/combo things. It has saved me time. 

Next, the mother of all plastic balls to drop: cooking every meal from scratch. 

I gave up my ideal dinner time featuring a Pinterest-perfect meal plan and embraced Trader Joe’s freezer section. Now, on Wednesday and Sunday when my youth pastor hubby is off at church and I’m solo parenting, I pop something easy in the oven and everyone gets fed. 

The picture of life with only glass balls. I almost didn’t post this online because of the messy kitchen and hair, but my oldest was beyond happy about this birthday cake. My husband was cooking us dinner (my birthday is the same week), and we were just having fun that night. 

Giving Myself Grace

My biggest thing, though, was giving myself grace. I had to give myself grace to even begin to drop the balls. There are dishes in the sink, a pile of clean socks that no one wants to match, and the mental space to be able to sleep when the house isn’t perfect. 

I made sure my glass balls of quality time with my family, being at church, and still going to work (why isn’t this a plastic ball?!) still happened. I do my best at these three things while I’m there. But if it isn’t perfect, that’s okay, too. 

So moms, what plastic balls do y’all fight to keep up that make you feel like you’re sinking in your everyday life? Have you allowed yourself grace to drop them yet?