Balance

Not to long ago I had a mom asked me how I balance my home life and my work life. At first I was taken aback. After all, how did this woman know I had any kind of balance? And then I thought, how does anybody know if they have reached the right balance? Isn't life as a working mom more a a pendulum that swings constantly and erratically from one side of life to another?
It seems that one week I think that my family life is wonderful. I'm able to spend time with my daughter and husband, sit and relax at the beach with a little G&T watching every little change in my daughter happen right before my eyes. Those are the weeks where I forget about work. I don't read my journals, I get lax about my usual "Get there 15 minutes early" rule. I'm just not focused.
And then there are weeks where I'm on at work. I have my paperwork in perfect order. I've called every patient that has been haunting me back to check on them. My "to read" stack is gone but I come home and feel that I've missed something...
The funny part is that these feelings aren't related to the amount of time I spend doing each one. The time (with the exception of time on call) is the same. I feel my balance swings where my focus takes me. My pendulum is tied to my mind and not the time clock. I guess that it's good that I can shift back and forth, I just wish I didn't have to miss anything in between.