Last night, when I gathered that baby up and took the stairs, heading for bed? There were dishes in the sink. I came down this morning to crayons scattered around the living room, a toy basket capsized and a bag of groceries in the middle of the kitchen floor (thankfully nothing requiring refrigeration). My kids' were not up yet. It was my job to get that all done.
I'm not good at getting it all done. Balance? Not so great at that either. I have lofty goals and make extensive lists, but at the end of the day sometimes I just put my blinders on and choose to ignore it all. The alternative can be so daunting, the facing it all down.
When people hear how many children we have, or that we homeschool or I like to knit or sew or garden, one of the first questions is how do I get it all done. I usually answer that I don't, not one bit.
This morning, after I picked up a bit, I spent a half hour on a sewing project. The kids colored pictures and built block towers and those dishes are still in the sink. I could spend my whole life doing nothing but working and still not get it all done. Instead, I see the value in things beyond the daily chores of keeping up a family this size.
So we bake muffins, even though the rug needs vacuuming. We weed the garden boxes, even when the laundry needs switching over. I sit on the back porch with my knitting while the kids run through the sprinkler, even though I've got a list a mile long waiting for me inside. We pack up and meet friends at the park even when I don't know what's for dinner. While I'm not getting it all done, I'm getting something very important done: I'm living life with my kids, showing them the world and teaching them new things. I'm tempering the chores and the to do lists with a little bit of "just because happy fun time." Because we all need it, myself included.
My 3 year old asks me to take him out and push him on the swing, and I leave that basket of folded laundry right there on the stairs and follow him outside. I'm not getting it all done, but I hope I'm getting at least some of it right.
You may not be getting it all done but you are definitely getting it right!!! What a tremendous blessing this article is for mommies everywhere!
ReplyDeleteLydia, Thank you so much for posting this!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Tara! Thanks for reading :-)
DeleteI just recently started reading your blog, on the advice of a friend, and I just want to say thank you. This post really touched my heart...I tend to be too 'goal oriented' and sometimes leave my precious daughters behind. As of today I will start the journey toward 'getting some of it right' rather than 'all done.' Thanks again Lydia.
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by, Holyn! I can be that way at times, too...when getting dinner made quickly seems more important than including that kid who wants to "help," or when flipping on the tv so I can clean is more important than taking my kids outside to swing. It can be hard to come home to a mess after a day left adventuring with the little people. It is a balance, for sure!
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ReplyDeleteYou are totally getting it right! Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I was listening to a teaching cd this morning and she said that as mothers, we don't usually have the chance to 'get it all done', but we do have the choice to 'choose the better portion'.
ReplyDeleteI love this thought! Yes, choose the better portion.
DeleteI love that picture of the girls sleeping. I think it is now one of my all-time favorites of your kids. <3 I also love this post. Such a wonderful reminder that the jobs we dole out to ourselves are not the most important things in life, at all. The people that God puts in our lives are so significantly more important!
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