Chapter 3 - Choose what matters
"At least three times every day take a moment and ask yourself what is really important. Have the wisdom and the courage to build your life around your answer." Dr Lee JampolskyOne of my favourite songs at the moment is Liturgy of the Hours by Stuart Townend. He explains the backstory: "‘Liturgy of the hours’ is the monastic practice of daily prayer at set points during the day. As someone who really struggles to remain ‘God-aware’ through the ups and downs of the day, I’ve found this discipline really helpful. I hope this song will help you to do the same." (https://www.stuarttownend.co.uk/song/liturgy-of-the-hours/) I love the idea of set times for prayer and reflection.
Weekly intention: Engage in Household Tasks Together
I have a tendency to be a pendulum in this area... I either focus entirely on getting household tasks done and stick the children in front of the TV or I ignore the jobs and focus on the children! This chapter today has been a challenge to find some middle-ground and not get stressed about the 'mess' created by their help! And today I have been challenged - Caleb asked to help with the washing up, which actually becomes an adventure in pouring the water from one vessel to another, but as he hasn't yet grasped the differing sizes and capacities, then a significant amount of water ends up on the floor!
Weekly intention: Turn Wait Time into Connection Time
I wonder how much time I actually spend with my loved ones just waiting for something else to happen. This should be time used and not wasted: "Wait time can become Connection time".
Weekly intention: Become Fully Submerged in the Passions of a Loved One
Sometimes I read things and then wonder when I will see the opportunities in my daily life. I wasn't quite expecting it to happen so quickly, but when Caleb asked me to run and jump with him at Gym Club today I decided to embrace it with two hands rather than sitting off to one side with one eye on him and one on my phone. And the outcome? A rather exhausted Mummy, but we had an hour of laughter and exercise, and we came home happy! He had had the gift of me; the gift of my time, focus and attention. As we go each Wednesday this will hopefully be 'our time', but I also need to find time for Steve and Zoë-Grace to have a similar gift.Review progress from previous weeks
- Go hands-free at meal times and evenings - good to be reminded as I have slipped a bit!
- Buy/find alarm clock - found and needs to be set and then phone can stay downstairs at bedtime.
- Improve the 'school to dinnertime' window - we are getting there and definitely have seen some improvements, but I can continue to do more (as always!)
- Set aside the to-do list for a time period when Caleb is around and play with him - I need to make more of a concerted effort here and plan to write a Spring List of Fun to work through with him.
- Go public on Facebook/blog - I am sharing these blogs on Facebook and sharing status updates when appropriate
- Tell Steve, Zoë-Grace and Caleb what I am trying to do - Done!
- Start a journal with Zoë-Grace - I have bought the journal and talked to her about it but need to actually set it up.
- Start an Appreciation Journal with Steve - Not sorted yet...
- Have distraction free time with Steve - We had a lovely meal out on Friday (thank you Katie for babysitting!) and I plan to schedule some more in!
- Improve drive time - We have been listening to CDs and chatting about the songs
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The book I'm reading is Hands Free Mama: A guide to putting down the phone, burning the to-do list and letting go of perfection to grasp what really matters, by Rachel Macy Stafford, Zondervan.com All quotes are from the book unless otherwise stated.
