Balance

I was struggling a little bit yesterday afternoon.  The combination of a stressful work week, an early morning wakeup to catch the train to Baltimore and underlying anxiety about my rapidly approaching GMAT test date were getting me down.  I passed out about ten minutes into my train ride home and woke up to a missed call and voicemail from my friend Steph, who moved to Madison, WI about a year ago to take an incredible job, which unfortunately means I hardly get to see her anymore.  And yet yesterday, out of the clear blue sky, she happened to be briefly in town and had called to see if I had a free hour to catch up before she had dinner with her family.

Reflected sunrise from our balcony this morning - new day!

I hesistated for half a second in my grumpy, exhausted state and then realized that it was exactly what I needed.  Over the seven years of our friendship, across a wide range of experiences and places from Madrid, to Madison, to DC, our lives have always run remarkably parallel in all the ways that matter.  She also happened to be having a stressful time at work and as we sat and traded stories over that hour, I felt a burden lift off of me.  We talked about how this must just be what being a "grown-up" is like sometimes; the balance between the professional and the personal tilts the wrong way and leaves you feeling off-kilter. It happens to everyone and when it does, you just have to hit pause and recalibrate.  Surprise visits from beloved friends are definitely part of what sets that balance right again.