The Brilliant Balance Blog

Last night, my husband bundled up our seven-year-old son in running pants, layers of UnderArmour, a hooded sweatshirt, extra thick socks, and even a winter hat for the short drive to a super cold spring track practice. When they returned home later for dinner, Tucker told me that he thought he’d run well……buuuuuuut, there was just this one kid he couldn’t […]

This morning, my daughter was barely out of bed before she started lamenting the fact that she has to go to  practice tonight. “Mom. Seriously. I need a way to get excited about this.” Then, jubilant, “I’ve got it! I can be excited that I have that new outfit to wear to practice. ” I […]

My daughter’s school play is this weekend, and for months now, I’ve been a stage mom of the highest order, reveling in the countdown of days (and hours…and minutes…) until the dress rehearsals and performances sweep us up in their delightful whirlwind. There’s nothing quite like production week. This year’s production is The Little Mermaid Jr. […]

On Wednesday, I was left unchaperoned in a bookstore and found myself browsing the magazine rack – a guilty pleasure I reserve for days without children in tow. I really have a thing for magazines. I need to check myself on the number of subscriptions I allow into the house so I don’t feel guilty when they haven’t all been read […]

When I worked for a Fortune 100 company, I ran my entire life on a schedule. Meetings were slotted into 30 or 60 minute windows like clockwork. I started and ended on time. I rarely cancelled and only got a break if someone else did. I was a productivity machine, and frankly, I took great pride in it. […]

My calling didn’t show up the way I expected it to. There was no flash of lightning or burst of insight, and yet its arrival was unmistakable. This calling was crystal clear. In fact, it came yesterday afternoon via a buzzing cell phone with my mother on the other end of the line and my four year […]

Craft stores are like a foreign country to me. They’re wildly interesting to visit, and I’m captivated by the endless treasures their aisles hold, but while there, I am a stranger in a strange land. This week, I made a forced expedition to Joann Fabrics to buy sewing notions for a project my 10-year-old has to […]

I hate waiting. My desire to efficiently fill every open moment with a productive activity makes me twitch when I’m confronted with unexpected downtime. I just can’t stand the inefficiency of sitting there and doing nothing! As a result, I’ve all but perfected the art of allocating my ever-present to-do list into slivers of time so […]