The Seesaw

“On and on, you will hike, and I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems, whatever they are.”

Dr. Seuss

After Charlotte was born and I found my new rhythm, I committed myself to begin teaching fitness classes again. I was excited about the opportunity. It was only a couple of nights a week with the benefit of extra spending cash. I would have a sphere of influence to impart change to others and encourage them on their road to health. It was perfect for me.

The logistics got complicated quickly. I didn’t foresee cooking supper at noon or preparing all the evening tasks while still doing regular afternoon chores. I didn’t think about Chuck and how he would need to leave work early to relieve me at the house so I could rush off to teach my classes. Nor did I see the fallout from carpool pick up to a quick drop-off at home.

The domino effect my decision had on my family and the week’s flow was not delivering the harmonious outcome I write about so often.

My outside commitments were not allowing the family wheels to turn smoothly. Chuck was left alone to handle supper, kitchen clean-up, and baths. Not to mention any outside responsibilities I could not finish.

Bottle and sleep found one little one before I got home, and a bedtime story quickly slipped away from another one’s eyes. The monetary gain I saw as extra spending cash was costing me dearly.

On the long commute home one evening, I called Ms. Susan. She is an older lady that is extremely close to my family. She offers me motherly advice often and keeps me from making wrong decisions. I told her about the teetering scales and how the balance was all off.

She said, “Kristen, you’re trying to stuff ten pounds into a five-pound bag. It just can’t be done. Your place is at home.”

I knew she was right. My husband, girls, and home were paying the price because I was not where I was supposed to be. There was a time teaching fitness classes fit like a glove and worked with my family schedule, but not anymore.

My girls needed me at home, and Chuck needed the order I brought (wives do that). We had a much larger place out in the country that required lots of outside and inside care. In addition to four dogs, that increased the time it took to tend to their evening needs. My writings and church commitments had expanded and now demanded regular hours.

Seasons change. I could not embrace the Spring chasing Winter.

My contract was coming up for renewal the following month. My focus was clear. The most powerful word for success is NO. Kitchen clean-up and bedtime prayers didn’t come with a written contract, but they did come with a heartfelt commitment to family first. I had another sphere of influence that needed me more than my wallet needed a few extra dollars of spending cash.

Our front yard is home to several older trees. Their trunks span wider than I can wrap my arms around. Songbirds find their nests among the branches. And we find shade under the leaves during those warm summer days. From a robust and sturdy limb hangs our girl’s tree swing. They both love to swing out over the creek, hoping to leave a footprint in the sky. Behind the tree, swing sits a seesaw. Each year for their birthday, a new piece of play equipment is handmade by their Pa.

As he was building the seesaw, his mind began carving out a poem to go along with it.

If you find yourself, like me, trying to stuff ten pounds into a five-pound bag or embracing the wrong season, let the words of this poem shed some light on an otherwise darkened view.

The Seesaw

Welcome Home

“To everything, there is a season and a time to every purpose under Heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

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