Everyone struggles to find balance in their lives, right?  If it isn’t a question of spending versus saving, it’s whether you’re focusing the right amount of time and energy on work or on family and friends.  Every choice impacts some balance in your life.

If crying in the parking lot of a car dealership was my first sign that things were off on Friday, then feeling totally frayed on Sunday was the flashing neon sign that my life needs some readjustment.  I like to pretend that I don’t know if I’m an introvert or an extrovert, but I guess that’s silly.  I’m an introvert. I love people, and there aren’t many things that I enjoy more than spending time with friends, but the thing that gives me energy is time at home.

Sometimes I get so excited about the options in front of me that I forget what I need.  Last week was a great example of that.  I got last-minute invitations and heard about fun options from friends, and before I knew it, I had gone an entire week without spending any real time at home.  Peanut and I didn’t take any long walks when he normally gets one every day, and my only “down time” involved cooking at 9 PM so I would have something to take to lunch the next day.  Not exactly the relaxing pre-bed ritual I’d like to get used to.

The issue of balance in this aspect of my life is tricky because I have such darn awesome friends.  Anybody worth their salt would want to spend time with these people.  But I need to know my limits, too.

The real stink in this scenario is being faced with your own limitations.  Isn’t it more fun to think that as long as you’re physically standing, you can handle anything?  Instead, a simple overdose of time with people (even people I like) is too much for me.  It seems kind of pathetic.

I guess getting things done at home isn’t that pathetic though.  I finked out on a real responsibility on Sunday afternoon and bought myself five extra hours at home.  After I got over the disappointing limitations thing and guilt for being flaky, I worked on my Friday to do list again.  I mowed the lawn, baked to my heart’s content, cleaned the kitchen, reorganized the pantry, and generally restored my sanity.  Even though I was working for most of the afternoon, I felt rested by the end of the day.  In fact, I was so rested that I couldn’t sleep until I had a good chat with my roommate.  I guess my “people time” meter for the day had 30 minutes left.

(Thanks for the picture, ucumari!)