Hey y'all! You may or may not have
noticed that I missed out on posting last week. Working in the car
selling business means LONG hours this time of year and I was
stretched so thin that I was pretty much translucent! It was just one
of those weeks that I can't say I am particularly proud of how I
balanced everything, or should I say my lack of balancing everything!
But, I did learn something from it, and that is what I am going to
share with you today!
So, I am completely and totally one of
those people who HAS to stay busy! I love to learn new things and be
a part of anything I feel is worthwhile. I am a “project” kind of
girl. I set goals for myself every year of new things I want to learn
to do and I pick up new hobbies in between; needless to say, there is
always something going on in my world. I think that most people would
get very lost in the maze that is inside my head. Really, it is
a”maze”ing! (bad joke, I know, I couldn't help it!) Well, anyway,
last year I learned to knit,the year before I took on refinishing
furniture and this year I plan to learn to quilt. I am sure there
will be more on that later. But my point is, I tend to load my plate
as though I am at an all you can eat buffet and my eyes are most
definitely bigger than my belly! Some days this just makes me feel so
defeated that I actually break down in tears. I want to be able to do
everything and do it well and it just isn't possible. Something is
ALWAYS forced to the back burner. And more often than not it is
people. The sad reality tied to that is, in the end, people are all
that matter.
The only thing I can figure is that,
whether conscientiously or sub-conscientiously, we push people out of
the way because people will understand. Your best friend understands
if you can't do lunch because you just absolutely have to get caught
up on laundry. Your husband understands if you work late and he has
to eat dinner alone. Your kids understand if you can't take them to
the park because there just isn't enough time. But, I am here to tell
you. MAKE TIME. At the end of the day, there is NOTHING more
important than those relationships. You are who you are because of
these people and the person that you will be in ten years will be a
direct result of the choices you make now.
Like I said earlier, last week was HARD
for me. I spent nearly every night working late and I spent no time
at all on my relationships. The most communication I had were a few
measly text messages in moments I stole throughout my day. I didn't
cook dinner, I didn't get to learn about his day, nor he mine. And I
missed him. The man I live with was there and I wasn't. And so here I
was, February 13th late at night and I still have nothing
planned for Valentine's Day which was a few short hours away. I had
been thinking all day about what I could buy as a gift, or something
I could plan, with very limited time and resources (I live in a small
town and they roll up the streets about 9pm, even on a Saturday.) and
I was drawing a blank. I had finally decided that at the very least,
I needed to buy a card. So, I went to my local conveniently located
Family Dollar Store and bought a card and a few other little things
to add to a basket of goodies. While I was in there I decided to head
to the video store and rent a movie, yes, we still have a video store
and it is AMAZING! Then, like a brick wall, it hit me! What I really
needed to do was give my time. This loving man that chose me to spend
his life with deserves my attention. He deserves my UNDIVIDED
attention!
So, instead of facing the mounds of
laundry and pile of dirty dishes and all the other things that I
“needed” to take care of on my day off, I suggested that we get
in the car and just drive. See where we end up, visit a town we have
never been to and just enjoy being together. This is honestly one of
our favorite things to do and we don't take the time to do it near
enough. We landed in a small town and ate at a little restaurant
called Barrelhouse Pizza (FANTASTIC by the way) and it was honestly
one of the best days I have had in a long time! No chaos, no
interruptions. Just me and him.
This week I have still had to work
late, but I have taken the time to focus on more than how tired I am
and the million things on my to do list when I get home at night. I
have invested my time and attention into people more than all my
projects and I am NOT sorry for that.
