Balancing (not the checkbook)

While it's an awesome time of life, to be retired and able to choose what I WANT to do everyday, it's also a challenge. When I was teaching, it took no measurable amount of self-discipline to go to my "job" (that I loved, I might add--maybe that's why it took little discipline). The evening's activities were also pretty much "set" (fix supper, go to evening school activities with kids, clean house, do laundry). But, now that I can choose how to spend my time, it requires a huge amount of self-discipline to maintain a good balance in my life. For example, if I really did just exactly what I WANT to do each day, I would "work" (that's how I describe it to my hubby) on "my" projects--I would scrapbook, or learn new crafting techniques, or better yet, add to my wish list of crafting supplies that I pretty much need to have! Meanwhile, the lesson I need to prepare for children's church, or the Bible study book I need to read, or even the laundry, or the meal preparation--those would almost always take a back seat....if I only did what I WANT to do that day. So, I'll take the "bad" (the need for self-discipline) with the "good" (the freedom to choose how I spend my day) and remember that I love a challenge. At the top of my planner page for today is just one large word: "BALANCE."