Juggling Act

I am guilty of having abandoned blogger and most social media of late.  Too busy entertaining family from Chile who are now luckily escaping our ferocious weather, but my mother-in-law will be staying for a few months.  And yes, it can be very tiring at times, but also so lovely to have her with us and for the children to spend quality time with her.  Just slightly worried that the climate change from 33 in the shade to 3 in the pouring rain, (not to mention near hurricane force winds!) may be too much for abuela, soon to be 80 in August!
It has been refreshing to actually sit in front of the fire, with a cup of tea, and even watch 24 all over again, right from Season 1 (for the second time). Jack Bauer isn`t Jack Bauer in Spanish though: "Chloe, get me the schematics, NOW! "just doesn`t sound the same. Can`t wait to see the new season to be released later this year, based in London, I think? (I don`t get out much, you say.)
Anyway, I don`t know about the rest of you, but lately, it seems I can`t keep up with the pressures and demands that life as a wife, a mother of three young children, a daughter, a daughter-in-law, a freelance artist, etc, etc. keep on throwing at me.  Is it just me? I keep on wondering how my mother and her generation managed: there were no such things as automatic washing machines, dishwashers, disposable nappies, online grocery shopping... I must confess I rarely do the latter, since a weekly spree to the supermarket is virtually the only highlight of my present social life.  And as I type this, let`s be honest, isn`t technology largely to blame? Online, all the time, and turned off: never. Still, where would we be without it? So, subconsciously or not, my latest figure ended up doing a balancing act, albeit looking a lot more serene than me of course, and with a much better behaved cat than mine.

 Juggling Act

watercolour on paper

36 x 48 cms

When I finished this, I couldn`t help but remember the people who perform juggling acts as entertainment at the traffic lights in Chile.  Some of them are incredibly talented. So this piece is dedicated to them and all you poor juggling, struggling mothers out there. As I keep telling myself, "Take a deep breath! It`ll pass."