School is in full swing and my calendar has never been more full. I have been struggling every day with keeping up with my daily tasks and I feel like there are always 100 things on my plate at any point in time. It gives me anxiety like crazy. My kids are feeling it, too, when I am grouchy or I am not spending as much time with them because I have so much to do. I sometimes struggle with being so busy that I don’t know where to start or what to do next.
I have learned that prioritizing is key.
I am a planner and I like to get things out of the way as soon as I find out about them but that’s not always possible. Especially when you have your kids to attend to as well. One day, I was elbow deep working on my computer when my daughter who was quietly playing on the floor nailed me in the head with one of her bouncy balls. She looked at me with the biggest and most beautiful smile and giggled as loud as she could. That is when I realized that I have been prioritizing wrong.
My kids are the ones who need to feel loved and played with first. Work comes second. My chores come third.
I know that years from now, my chores and work will not be remembered but my kids will remember Mommy never having time to play with them because of it. I can’t live with that. I refuse to let that be their memories of growing up.
Checking things off of my to-do list is important. It needs to be done but there is no reason that it can’t be done after pushing my daughter on the swings or getting down on the floor and playing toys with my son.
When you feel overwhelmed and you are trying to prioritize what is the most important thing to do, make sure your kids are at the top of that list. They feel your frustration, too, and it creates so much disappointment in their hearts when we choose our daily tasks over them. I momentarily forgot to put them first and I regret that with my entire heart. My kids will always be the most important thing in my world and it is even more important to make sure that they know it and feel loved. They are our priority. They are what comes first.
