the balanced mom

Often when I pick up a book about being a mom, I put it right back down again. Books like this tend to be whiny, filled with strategies for forcing your partner to do what you want or plans for alone time. The upbeat ones recommend prayer and come complete with bible verses. Neither of these strategies appeal to my parenting style, so I tend to be leery. In this case, I was pleasantly surprised!
The focus of this book is on maintaining our selves while being the best possible parents and partners. In a family everyone needs to nurture their own interests and individuality while still contributing to the greater good; even mom. So, while it does advocate time alone, meditation and time with friends, this book suggests that all of those independent activities should serve to strengthen the family as a unit.
My grandmother once told me that when you are asked to do something that you really are not interested it, the best response is "I'm terribly sorry, I just can't". Too often we try to do everything, and end up unhappy and unable to really do anything to the best of our ability. I love that the author here advocates for more unstructured family time. She reminds us to live our values, which for most of us includes quality family time, not so much the endless lessons and practices in which we get caught up.
Best of all, financial responsibility is stressed in this book as a means of finding balance in our lives. We are reminded that our values should be reflected in our purchases and that we should "stop sacrificing personal goals and a fulfilling life for material possessions." By relaxing, letting our values guide our lives and surrounding ourselves with people who support us we can be our best selves as we work and raise our children. They will thank us!