Balance.

Hey look! Two blog posts in one month. It's rather miraculous, but it has to do with balance. Lately, my life has been so much more balanced than it's been in a couple of years. I can't say that I completely love it, but being in a long distance relationship has made it easier to balance my life back out. Since Jake lives 3 hours away, I have a lot of time to myself and I've been using it much more wisely than ever before.

During the first year that I moved back to NC, I was so focused on my social life that it kept me from doing much of anything else. It was fun. The next year, I was in an on again/off again relationship that kept me pretty occupied. Again, it was fun, but it didn't make me happy. This year, I'm balancing things out and taking time to enjoy life again--it's going to be amazing.

For example, my house is cleaner than my apartment ever was. I have time to run errands and do things that I would have previously procrastinated. I have more time for personal reflection and strengthening my testimony. I actually stay at school and get papers graded and lessons planned in advance now. I have been cooking more often and trying to learn to cook new things. I've been making more time for blogging. I've caught up on some of my favorite TV shows (maybe that's not such a good thing). I've been re-introduced to my first love (reading) and have read 4 books within the past 2 months. I've been working on making new friends. I've made more time for family--I've spent more time with my family in the past 4-5 months than I had in the past year. They love Jake!!

I feel like I'm really happy again for the first time in a while :) I didn't realize how out of whack my life had gotten. I needed some balance and time to figure things out again. Even though it's hard to be in a long distance relationship, it's been good for me. Now that I'm all balanced out again, I think I may be ready to end the long distance thing...can't wait for Jake to graduate!!