A Secret to Success as a Working Mom: Turn Burn Out Into Bliss and Embrace Joy

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Last weekend my youngest was committed to going to the "Water Steps" a man-made water fall in Pittsburgh by the rivers. (Fun Fact: Three rivers converge in Pittsburgh--The Ohio River, The Monongahela River, and the Allegheny River.)  He kept asking. I knew he was serious when he said, "If you won't take me, I'll ask  daddy!" Given that it was highly unlikely that would happen on an unscheduled day, I relented. So, we went. It wasn’t planned in the way most things in my life are. No calendar block. No checklist. No “productive” purpose attached. And, so in some respects it was uncomfortable. And yet, it seemed necessary. It was the idea of my 8-year-old—offered with the kind of urgency only children possess when something is profoundly important to them.
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The function of fiction...

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Photo credit: Unknown
As I was running today I thought about the importance of the lies that we tell ourselves. “He doesn’t have a girlfriend.” “I haven’t gained 15 pounds since college.” "He's not cheating on me." “He loves me.” “This haircut looks great on me.” 

The book He's Just Not That Into You has made it harder to believe these lies. Still, they do serve a purpose.


These lies help us to make it through. They help us cope. They help us function. They help us live. They help us maintain a healthy outlook until we can deal with the truth.

I’m not talking about those who are so out of touch that they live in a fantasy world. Rather, I am talking about those regular folks who have so much going on in our lives that dealing with it all at once might break us.

The more that I thought about it the more I concluded that denial gets a bad break. Upon reflection, I don’t call it dysfunction at all. I call it balance…
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