Simple Time

Time.

It’s one of those things that you usually don’t ever have enough of….and is the subject of quotes quite often..

“Time well spent.”

“Time is on my side.”

“Use your time wisely.”

“Time flies when you’re having fun.” “Don’t waste time!”

Just to quote a few.

So spending time with my husband, adult sons and their wives is time that takes up residence in my heart and fills up those empty spaces when time has seemed wasted in some way.

How I remember thinking that some days went on and on and I wasn’t sure if they’d ever end. Time seemed to drag on when the kids were little. It was a guaranteed constant..and I was forever the list maker; although the list didn’t look just like this, you get the general idea.

1.) wake up at the crack of dawn whether or not I had had a full night’s sleep……
2.) enter kitchen and put on coffee, trip over one forgotten toy that had remained in its place overnight…
3.) start a load of laundry…out of the four loads needing to be done…
4.) unload dishwasher from night before….and re-wash those dishes not cleaned….
5.) try and start any cleaning project needing to be done that day….or daily…
6.) fix boys’ breakfast in between all the other events…while they chose different cereals, only to realize that the milk carton would fill one bowl only….
7.) get everyone dressed….it’s summer, shorts and tees….
8.) run errands…while coming between numerous arguments about “being in someone else’s space…..
9.) come home and make lunch that included more than peanut butter and jelly….
10.) try to get boys to go down for naps as they decided that they would miss something while sleeping…..
11.) if naps occurred, catch up on work, phone calls, dinner prep, etc…..which never was completed….
12.) afternoon snacks….no, not candy bars….
13.) attempt a few minutes of “quality time” with boys…which might be 10 minutes….
14.) fix dinner while monitoring “free play”….that included the use of hands and slapping….
15.) eat with boys and keep dad’s dinner warm for when he gets home from work…which might be 8:00 on a good day
16.) clean up kitchen…..and praying the dishwasher would clean properly tonight (see #4)…..
17.) give the boys baths…using the combined version as often as possible….
18.) daddy comes home to play for a bit before bedtime…and gets them all wound up before bed…
19.) fold laundry..while trying to find the “missing sock island”….
20.) bedtime….stories, questions, water, Mr. Bear…..
21.) “me” time becomes “fall into bed exhausted”…..long enough to feel someone looking at you while deep in slumber…

Next day…REPEAT 1-21 with extra steps thrown in as needed!

Now I look back and see how that time was to be treasured. Not that my lists were bad, but I should have concentrated less on the lists and more on the fun. It’s easy to say that now that I’m on the other side, but spending time yesterday with everyone was such a treasure!

Mom, stop.

Enjoy your time with your kiddos. As ours got older and we homeschooled, we spent more quality time together…I wouldn’t trade that for the world!!! Even though it was tough sometimes, it was indeed 10 years well spent!

Now everyone has their own lives with their families, work schedules and things to do. And that’s the way it is suppose to be, I wouldn’t change that for the world either!