Priorities

This is my Life....Priorities

Shoes.  I feel like shoes are one of the most frustrating and annoying things to buy.  When Connor was a baby, I was/am in love with Puma.  We bought him these cute little puma sneakers when he started to stand.  Children GROW so fast.  They have growth spurts and you spend $40 on a pair of shoes for them that they sometimes only get to wear for a couple months. You HOPE they can possibly be handed down to the next, but then the next child will have chubby piggies, or a dog will poop in one of the sneakers (yes this happened) and then by the third, you don't really focus on the shoes let alone get them out of their pjs.  I started buying a size up in hopes that would help control the buying of shoes.  My point is, children grow sooo fast!!! Right before our eyes, they are growing, learning new things, hitting new milestones, waking up from nap with a whole new laugh.  Moments you don't want to miss but so many of life's "chores" sometimes take you away from seeing these memories or even noticing these adorable little gifts sitting before you. 

This was our kitchen this morning when I woke up (also, 2 pans on the stove).  With Anthony being in school for his Master's, the evenings of being energetic to get the kitchen clean are tough.  (He graduates in May though, woohoo, a very proud wifey over here). Let me tell you, when he was off for two weeks at Christmas, our kitchen and our laundry did not pile up, it was wonderful.  However, this was our kitchen today.  The children I watch get dropped off at 7:30, I maybe rise out of bed at 7, giving me no time to tackle this before my day of additional children to my own arrive.  Three years ago, this would have made me extremely nervous.  Messes still make me nervous.  I can't sit "peacefully" with a mess around me.  I am obsessed with Lysol wipes and strive to keeping a clean home. This is both a blessing and a curse.  But, where are my priorities?

This was (is) our laundry this morning.  Four loads of laundry that so graciously piles up in our hallway.  This also, makes me uneasy.  I have to walk by it at least 20 times a day, hoping that when I graze past it to walk down the stairs I don't knock it over!  Kind of like when you pile the garbage like Jenga.  It's sort of like that. Now, I could have easily brought the older boys to school this morning, come home with the children, let them have free play time as I sit there and fold the laundry followed by snack time where I would have conquered the kitchen.  These two chores could have taken my focus away from my children as well as the little lady I watch.  But, instead, I was being pulled.  Instead...this is what we did.   

We spent the morning at the beach.  Yes, it's winter!  But, blessed with a very mild day, the beach is tons of fun in the winter.  Do you know how much more fun it is to watch children laughing and just the pure Joy of being with them? To watch them finding little creatures, shells, seaweed, chasing seagulls?  That would not have been the experience for the morning if I had chosen to let the kitchen and laundry consume my thoughts.  These chores are very important, don't get me wrong!  But they can pull us away from potential moments that we won't get back or get a chance to experience again.  Yes, we will go to the beach again, but seeing Jamison run full force into the freezing water, that's a memory I'll have forever now and it was hilarious! I wouldn't have this memory had I been doing the dishes. The dishes and laundry will not change.   They do not make us smile, or laugh, or feel loved.  They actually make us feel the complete opposite.  They can make us moody and not so fun to be around. 

This has been a constant prayer of mine over the past three years.  Once I started staying home, I felt overwhelmed and consumed by my home.  A Mom is the home.  If we are in a bad mood, most likely, the rest of the home will be in a bad mood.  YOU can change that! I encourage you, the next time you are feeling consumed with the thought to do the laundry, clean the bathroom, clean the kitchen, mop the floors, etc., grab your child(ren), plop down and read a book with them, or play a game with them, or take a walk with them.  You will be happily surprised by the cute comments that come out of their mouths and what they notice.  Or a simple kiss to your cheek .  These are moments you won't get back and that will, with time, become your focus and consume your mind. :)

Again...you won't find these joyous smiles elbow deep in a toilet.

P.S.  After naps is when I conquered the kitchen, the laundry is still keeping balance!