Due to the challenges our friends have faced the last
couple of weeks, I find myself more philosophical than I anticipated. Taking my
own advice, I spent some time over the past two days reflecting on how my life
with my family and friends can become even better (please see this post if you
want some background http://movingstronglyforward.typepad.com/moving_strongly_forward/2008/11/hug-your-families-tonight.html)
I have a really good life. I have an incredible and
supportive husband and son, we are healthy, my work rewards me, and this blog is
taking me to places that I only vaguely thought possible before writing it. As
defined by my friend, Debbie Phillips www.groupmv.com,
I am a Woman on Fire!
I am feeling great, I am in the zone and I am moving
strongly forward, but I have one major hurdle. TIME. TIME is an epidemic
problem. I need to find time to cook, time for my family, time to homeschool
Colson, time to write this blog, time to work, time to clean, time to keep up
with friends, and time for myself. If I hadn’t recovered my health, as I
discussed in the beginning posts of this blog, I wouldn’t be able to do any of
this.
I am going to keep cooking since that is the foundation
for our health and everything else in our lives. I am going to keep
homeschooling Colson because I want him to be a sharp and critical thinker. Only
Ryan and I can ensure that. I am going to keep writing this blog because this
is the piece I have been missing in my life (ok...I also want to make time to
learn Celtic fiddle, but that pales in comparison to the blog). The blog has
actually helped me save time, as I now send people to it, rather than emailing
the same information repeatedly. The income from work is still a necessity, so
thank goodness it is rewarding.
Cleaning. I am not an overachieving, everything shines
and is put in its place housekeeper. Cleaning is where I am going to pick up
some time. Little by little my family has been simplifying our lives. As we get
rid of more stuff, the effort to reign in the chaos and keep things clean
becomes easier and quicker. It is amazing how much we have jettisoned and how
much more there is to go. We need to step this up now so that it becomes easier
more quickly.
Friends. I am finally letting up on myself regarding
friends. I used to work very hard keeping up with my friends. Ryan and I have
moved a lot, and we have friends all over the place. What I have come to
realize and am still working to improve upon, is that some friends are
transient and some are forever.
Family. With the bits and pieces of time that I
continue to pick up, I will be able to enjoy my time with them even more.
You sure are a Women on Fire! Congratulations for doing your very best, Laura. The way you have prioritized what is important to you is inspiring. It simply is impossible to do it all.
One little trick that Rob taught me that helps tremendously to manage time is my EGG-TIMER. I keep it beside me at all times set to 20 minutes. It keeps me from going into the "big black hole" of email or Facebook or even a phone call that's not scheduled. Keep up your beautiful work on this blog!! xo Debbie
Posted by: Debbie Phillips | November 10, 2008 at 09:34 AM