My morning sometimes gets away from me. I have good intentions to carry out a few key tasks in my day. I’ve learned to not pack too many chores into a day because it weighs down my moments with a dullness that sucks the joy right out of life. But even those few chores that are supposed to be priority sometimes get pushed off.
I realized that it happens when I become victim to the “Can you firsts.”
“Mommy, can you first sharpen my pencil?”
“Mommy, can you first help me pick out clothes?”
“Mommy, can you first color a picture with me?”
“Can you first iron a shirt or make breakfast or read this book to me?”
I have my own “Can you firsts” that sidetrack me as well. Paying bills, changing a diaper, responding to email, reading a chapter in a book.
Almost every single “Can you first” is worthy of my attention. They aren’t bad choices. They just aren’t the best choices.
I stopped myself the other morning and said to my kids and myself, “There is always going to be another ‘Can you first!’ At some point I’ve got to cut them off, so I can put the first thing first.”
I can reclaim a morning when I remember the skeleton of what I wanted my day to look like. If I can just get the important structure of bones built first, there will most likely be room for the rest as well. But leave out that important frame, and my day ends up looking like a mushy puddle of goo.
My skeleton usually contains the bones of journaling with God, writing towards a specific goal, exercise, making meals, reading and a household chore. Not too much to fit into a wide-open day. But oh how the minutes can get stolen if I don’t cut off the “Can you firsts.”
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I need to construct a skeleton badly! I am seeing a lit more “goo” and “mush” than I want to. The little bone and flesh project I’ve been working on for the last 6 weeks has changed everything! He inspires me so much.I really need to construct some concrete ideas about how I use my day. If not, it becomes mushy, and my stomach becomes more big and mushy because I notice that it’s easy to feed the body when you don’t have some creative to feed on.I need to feed on creative things I produce while I’m feeding him every 2 to 3 hours.I need to use his nap times to write and live my dreams.
You’ll figure it out. It’s all about baby steps and celebrating small wins. Seeing creative strengths as they apply to the entirety of your life. You’re doing awesome and sound like a great Father already!