by Harriet Bishop

What do you think of when you hear the word "balance?" A graceful ballerina dancing on her toes? An agile gymnast on the balance beam? A new pair of athletic shoes? Your checking account? Your healthful diet?

All these different meanings have significance for people who are managing a challenging lifestyle by juggling the demands of chronic illness in the family while balancing the everyday chores with other activities that bring fulfilling joy.

Physical activities as tolerated such as dancing and gentle sports or games can enhance our feelings of well being unless overdone.

Solid underpinnings such as well-fitting athletic shoes, perhaps with prescribed orthotics, can help to keep our body in alignment.

Balancing our finances by using good judgment to regulate expenditures according to income can lead to a healthy bank balance.

And yes, let's not underrate the importance of balancing our daily work with activities that bring us joy. Some of us revert several times a day to a 'hobby break,' like the busy executive wielding a putter in his office between multimillion dollar deals, or the housewife who makes beaded jewelry between laundry loads. 

Others who are more serious minded may have to jot notes to remind themselves to schedule relaxing activities that lessen tension. 

And what better way to release tension than to enjoy a good laugh over a funny joke! A sense of humor goes a long way in keeping us balanced. There is humor to be found in almost any human situation no matter how dire, if we are open to seeing it. Sometimes we might have to remind ourselves that this is going to be funny later on, after we manage to get through it. 

Almost everyone could use more greens and other fresh vegetables in their diets. Have you ever thought of growing your own? Even if you live in an apartment, you can fill flower boxes or planters with potting soil and plant seeds of parsley, spinach, carrots or beets on your balcony. Avoid pesticides and you'll have fresh organic foods in season, locally grown, the best foods for our bodies.

That brings to mind the greatest balancing act of all-the Balance of Nature. Stepping out onto the porch in the early spring twilight, I gasped and leaped backward, as an other-worldly creature writhed just inches from my open toe sandal. Have you ever seen a dark brown bug, fully eight inches long and two inches wide with seemingly a million legs? My heart pounded as I tried to make sense of this thing that scared me as much as if it had been a rattlesnake.

I did what any rural Texas housewife would do-no, not the pistol. I'm not that violent! I grabbed a shovel, and briefly thought that I hated to end a precious life, but quickly justified my action based on the fact that my hands were still shaking from the fright. I swiftly beheaded the ugly monster. A neighbor wanted to take him fishing-as bait! So the scary creature met his final demise in Canyon Lake. 

Later that week I noted that my pansy blossoms which had overwintered in good shape were looking lacy as if something were making a meal of them. I have tried the blossoms in my salads and I admit they are tasty…but they are for my family, not for unwelcome visitors to my garden! The dampness of the early evening revealed the culprits. By the dozens, they were oozing their slime in shiny trails across the walk. 

Did you know that a little dash of salt on a slug will melt him into a shapeless glob almost instantly? There were so many of all sizes from half an inch to two and a half inches long that I used a whole box of salt during the next three evenings, and had to buy more. 

And then I caught them red-handed in their nasty action, curling onto a pansy petal, chomping away at the pretty purples and yellows. What to do now…you can't sprinkle salt on the plant without expecting the death of the innocent victim. And they are wa-ay too slimy to pick off by hand. 

It's time to consult the experts, Malcolm Beck and his "Texas Bug Book." Because I avoid pesticides, I was delighted to learn that jar lids filled with beer will do them in as they guzzle the brew and apparently fall in to drown. It wasn't unusual to find 15, then 20 slugs in the morning floating in the murky liquid beneath the pansy blossoms. The news spread fast among the little creatures of the garden, and I placed jar lids every few feet, only to find them full every morning. The slugs numbered in the hundreds, increasing daily.

Soon I needed larger containers, and discovered that the bottom two inches of a plastic water bottle works better than a shallow jar lid. Returning to Malcolm Beck's book for more tips, I was startled as I turned a page to reveal a photo of the ugly monster I had beheaded! Describing it as a Giant Centipede, the text explained that its favorite food is…you guessed it…slugs!

So in my haste to destroy him through my own baseless fear of an unknown, I had interrupted his feast that night, put an end to his innocent life, and upset the delicate Balance of Nature in my garden, bringing the plague of slugs upon myself.

Ah-h-h…too late smart. 

Moderation in all things, as well as balance in all areas of our lives would bode us well as we juggle the demands of chronic illness and the chores of daily life.