Juggling is such a strong metaphor for motherhood. What else are we than master jugglers, constantly balancing our family's physical, mental, and emotional needs, not to mention keeping up with our home, work, and community? Call the circus, because we've got a show for you!
The problem comes when we have too many balls to juggle, and not enough time, energy, or mental fortitude to continue the act. Balls slip, they fall, they crash; inevitably Motherhood becomes too much sometimes. Balls drop for all of us, and that's OK!
But here's where it gets tricky.
Some of our balls are made of plastic and bounce back quickly without much consequence when they fall. These balls represent things like doing the dishes, cleaning, picking up toys, extracurricular activities, grocery shopping, even screentime, outside time, etc. Important aspects of our day certainly, but if you drop the dishes ball today, or throw the soccer practice ball out the window, it can bounce back tomorrow without much in the way of consequence.
Some of our balls are made of glass. These balls are delicate, fragile, and over time, can be much more difficult to put back together. Things like the attachment with our children, our own mental health, or the relationship with our partner. These balls can be repaired but over time, if dropped continuously, they become harder and harder to glue back together. These are often the heaviest balls to juggle, but give us the most peace and pride when we juggle them successfully.
It's up to you to determine which of your balls are made of plastic and which are glass, but I encourage you to consider dropping the plastic first. Balls will drop, so let's drop the
ones that bounce back rather than the ones that shatter.
And if you do think you've dropped your glass balls a few too many times, reach out to someone like me. I can help you piece them back together and learn how to drop the plastic ones instead.
