"If you are too busy to enjoy quality time with your family, then you need to re-evaluate your priorities." -Dave Willis
We are all busy. We all have priorities and obligations. Life can feel overwhelming at times. But if we are too busy working or don't carve out time to make memories, then why are we so busy in the first place? The season of life I am currently in is different for a lot of people, I'm sure. And in ten years, my mindset will probably have shifted. However, I know that at this time when I'm trying to build a new business and grow a family, I have to carve out time for the moments I want to enjoy and cherish. This does take effort. It may sound crazy to "make time" for your family, but it's true. We can let the days and the chores swallow us, but if we intentionally make time for quality time with the kids in the floor or out at the makeshift tree house, we can go to sleep at night guilt-free knowing we were fully present in the moment. I have talked before about putting "zeros" on the calendar. I do this constantly. I write them in at the beginning of the month AND throughout the weeks. We need down time. We need time to do nothing. I am a busy-body and will get up and start a task and not quit until bedtime. Our routine for years was to work until midnight and get up at 6 or 7 a.m. and start again. I know that's just life, but I also want to be more intentional with my time. We only get 24 hours in a day, so I want to be sure the hours I have with my family are maximized. No one will ever have a completely balanced schedule, but we can aim to be aware of how we are spending our time and try to focus on who means the most to us.
And I cannot leave out my Daddy. I had him on Earth with me until I was 20 years old. I'm 35 now and cannot believe that soon I'll have lived without him longer than I lived with him. Time and cancer are such thieves. We saw him every other weekend and during the week when he'd come watch us play sports or perform in the band (shout out to the woodwinds). From the time he picked us up in his navy blue T-Bird on Friday afternoon, until he dropped us back off on Sunday afternoon, his attention was on my brother and me. We would watch out the living room window to see his car whip around the corner and run outside because we didn't really know exactly what time he would be arriving. How did we survive without cell phones?? We'd hug him so tight and I couldn't get enough of that Aramis smell he always had. My brother and I were his top priority when at his house. He tried his hardest to make us laugh, he fed us constantly, and took us to the movies, or the "show" as he called it, almost every weekend. I remember how tan and strong his hands were. He'd always set his cruise and hold the steering wheel with one hand right at 6 o'clock mark. Such a perfectionist and always aiming to be a good driver. He taught us how to drive on Weakley County backroads. Those were the days!! He traveled for work around west TN for the state of TN as an auditor and CPA and still drove to our games and events during the week. I hated seeing him walk away in his nice, navy suit alone to get in his car for the ride home. I didn't understand divorce. I may never understand theirs and that's not my place. I just know that they made US the priority and gave us everything and more to have the best foundation for life...a wonderful childhood. I just hope to be doing the same for my children and my family.
Fight for your time. Fight for your family. Fight for mental health. Fight for peace. Fight for finding the love God gives us. Fight to get through the tough days. Fight to hold on to the good ones. Life is short....slow it down and enjoy the ride. And like my Mama always says...."don't sweat the petty stuff and don't pet the sweaty stuff!" (and she thinks I don't listen to her!)
