The HAPPY MEDIUM

I first heard the expression "there must be a happy medium" from my mother!   She had a LOT of expressions/ proverbs!  We had been invited for a family dinner at their house, Tom and I arrived with our two boys and the baby, a couple of diapers and a change of clothes for the baby (burp ups happen even when nursing!)  My brother and his wife with their FIRST son arrived with enough baby stuff to stay a couple of days, and they lived nearby!  Mom told me that there had to be a "happy medium" somewhere between too prepared and un-prepared!  I didn't feel insulted since I was a third-time mom!

I have found in 54 years of marriage that being prepared isn't really necessary, and certainly prevents spontaneity, but the "happy medium" does require some preparation.  How different our world would be if that was the goal - a happy medium.  Perhaps we should consider Churchill's famous remark "talk softly, but carry a big stick" - would that be a good "medium" between WAR and PEACE.  No totalitarian regimes, but no anarchy either;  keep the bullies at bay and encourage kindness on a GLOBAL SCALE.  The Bible says, "love one another as I have loved you."

The "happy medium" between lifestyles of the "rich and famous" and living in a government subsidized apartment project.  Between being an acquisitive person having to have the newest, nicest "whatever" and using the same pot or pan for multiple purposes.  I remember getting a microwave (back when they were the "newest thing") as an anniversary present and feeling less than thankful; now I don't know what I would do without that appliance!!  I even thanked husband Tom multiple times for installing a hood over the range in our apartment as a birthday present!! (that is what happens when you burn the cheese sandwiches and have to boil cinnamon and an orange to kill the odor! I also purchased some unstinky neutralizer spray!)

We recently "downsized" from a 3 bedroom house to a 1 bedroom apartment and the hardest part was downsizing to a single bathroom!!  We still have stuff in storage "in case" we get another house some day or as one adult son said, "that's our history too!"  So they will have lots of laughs when we are dead and gone saying, "what did they keep all this STUFF for!"  Happens to all of us if we live long enough to be a problem to our kids!!

Applying the "happy medium" to other aspects of life is walking a tightrope like the GREAT WALLENDES family of circus fame.  You must keep your focus on the goal, your feet moving forward surely, and your hands firmly gripping the balance beam of GRATITUDE, your only "safety net" God's love and care.  The "happy medium"... interesting thought!