Do you know any super-moms, super-dads, super-people? How do they do it?  They handle everything! They work, they support the community, their house/yard/car is immaculate, they are healthy, they have fun, they never look stressed and always look well-groomed

They probably make cute bento lunches for their kids. I once tried to be that mom.  I think it was because I just enjoyed collecting cute bento accessories. I gave up the bento making very quickly. How do people manage this?

I am a full-time mom, have a full-time job, and take on other things I have a passion for. I love supporting our community and as part of my desire to support our community and share Hilo love with others, I also  write blog posts for Living Hilo Style and try to keep up with posts on the Living Hilo Style Facebook and Instagram accounts.

(That being said, if you have any blog post ideas, please contact me. I would love to get your Hilo thoughts published on Living Hilo Style.  In addition, if you have Hilo events coming up, we would love to share them on Facebook.  If you have awesome pics of Hilo people, food, scenery, fashion, events, or whatevas–we would love to share it on our Instagram account.)

Despite the schedule I choose for myself, I make sure to still find time to connect with friends.

This may mean that the house is not as neat as I want it to be and that the laundry pile is often higher and wrinklier than it should look. That is ok.

I keep telling myself that it is more important to keep the human connections alive than to have a neat house and perfectly-done laundry. Instead of having a home-cooked meal all the time, we order takeout when we need to.  My kids do their own laundry and iron their own clothes

They are getting a little better at washing their dishes and helping put dishes away. I still have to remind them to do their chores, but we all help each other.

One of the connections I love keeping alive is the connection with the ladies I work with. At my workplace, we have a group of strong females  who try to get together every once in a while. More than colleagues, we are friends.  We try to find the time to relax, talk, eat, laugh–at things that are unrelated to work. It isn’t easy to find this time–we scheduled and rescheduled as each of our calendars got fuller and fuller.  But we did it.  And we are glad to have done it. Time together keeps us close and it makes working together so much more productive and FUN.  So, I never really answered the question in the title–Is there a balance?  I don’t know that there is–just work hard, be happy, count your blessings, spend time with positive people and I believe your life will be as balanced as it needs to be. Living Hilo Style.