Some days, I feel like an expert clown -- look at me juggle raising a family, being a good mom & wife, being involved with both my children's schools, volunteering in the community, maintaining a home with fresh milk in the refrigerator and clean clothes in the closet, managing a successful small business, being a good friend, finding time for myself to exercise and maybe plop down for reading a good book, and participate in bible studies to nourish my soul. Those days are amazing when I feel like I somehow throw up all those balls and keep them going in miraculous fashion.

Recently, it's felt like all those balls aren't really staying in the air. And it's amazing how when one ball starts to fall, others seem to come down all around it. Adding a ball for "nursing a convalescing boy" has caused every other ball to fall to the ground. It's figuring out when the last pain reliever was administered (and was it tylenol or ibuprofen? Which one should I give now), or getting out of bed bleary-eyed at 2 am (and maybe even 5 am) to give more medicine, or making (and cleaning up) extra "soft" meals that he can swallow, or managing the overall whininess and fatigue he's feeling. I didn't think it would be quite as disruptive as it has been but it's taken up quite a bit of time that we just don't have.

So, I'm in the process of trying to organize things so that I can figure out which things I need to prioritize and feel okay letting the other things pass for a while. I'm trying to give myself some grace -- Cate may get to watch more television this week than I'd like, but it's better than having a grumpy, stressed out mommy. Meals may not be very fancy this week, but no one will die because of it. Thanks to friends and family who have listened to me and prayed for me this week as the magnitude of my fatigue hit me.