Trina, you're right—at least when we question these things it demonstrates an awareness and helps maintain a healthy balance. Thanks for sharing some of your love list with us!

Mama Zen, that's a really great point, that also has a lot to do with balance: "Claiming those things is not the same as insisting on having them all the time."

Meagan, I think that attitude—I'll get back to living my own life when my kids have grown up—is fairly common among mothers. But you're exactly right: "that mindset put my kids at odds with my sense of self." I also agree that kids need to see self preservation modeled by us. It's an important part of teaching our kids to respect other individuals and to stick up for themselves.

Dave, just imagining all the people out there claiming what they love is really inspiring. I feel like I see so much restlessness and unhappiness around me—so many people longing for something they don't know how to find or do anything about. If all of this sharing and honesty can give more people hope and fulfillment, I will be ridiculously thrilled. 

Jessica, I can really relate to some of your love list items. Thanks for sharing them with all of us. (Also, I just wanted to let you know that you often put a smile on my face.)

Joy, welcome to Halfway to Normal! There is a lot of good energy, even more so now that part of Lance's great community has joined us here. It's great to hear your perspective on doing things for others, and also to know that while we should all have a desire to reach out to others, it's OK for people to go about that in different ways, to different degrees. 

Lance, yeah, that deep peace is pretty amazing, isn't it? I think it really comes when I'm in harmony with who God created *me* to be, and I'm interacting with the world and others around me in a way that honors who I am.

bridgeout, I have loved watching a community of people come together around this idea, each finding their way here along a different path. Thanks for jumping in, and sharing your link.

Tabitha, great! Thanks for letting us know.