Balancing Act

I just spent the weekend cleaning the house with help from the Wizard. It feels so much more like home this way. During the week we are all so busy that things just tend to end up all over the place, which makes me sad. I always thought that my house would be cozy and inviting, but all too often it's chaotic and messy.

I used to be a full time homeschooling mom, and my house looked a lot cleaner. Now, with me back at work and both children in school, we're away so much and I've had to adjust my expectations. This is becoming a theme. I think in general we humans are not very good at predicting the unintended consequences of our decisions, the costs of the cost benefit equation. It never occurred to me that going back to school for my teacher certification would mean less time with my family on the weekends. I had no idea that going back to work would mean less time with my children. Maybe I'm just not very smart that way, but I see this inability to predict consequences elsewhere as well, such as meetings at school. It's remarkable, really, given that we are all people who strive to live our lives consciously. I wonder how and at what point experiences guides us in this way?