Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Getting the Family Together



These days, I find that a plethora of random activities seem to be vying for my time. After talking to some of my girlfriends, it seems that there is an epidemic going on out there . . . over scheduling! I really feel that, as a mother and as "Zoe" (stating that I am, after all, a separate person from my children and more then just my role as a mom) there is so much to do (and so much that I want to do)! Suddenly the days seem shorter and the list of priorities seems to be getting bigger.

Lately, it also seems that my husband and I seem to be just passing each other as we trade off the baby. Okay, so maybe it is not that bad all of the time but, we definitely have our days. My husband refers to them as the "dog days" of parenthood. Our schedule is full of cleaning up spills, running to the store for groceries, attending events at Asher's school, getting to church with everyone's shirt tucked in . . . :)

In the middle of all of this madness, the easiest thing to slip through the cracks seems to be quality family time together. I don't really have any secret for making family time a priority other then to say "Just Do IT"!

Last night, we went out into the yard, as a family, to pull some weeds. It was so cute to see Asher so intent on making sure that he pulled up the roots and Myles as he sped past us on his tricycle. Owen sat contently in his stroller, occasionally chucking his bottle at us. It was nice. Afterwards, Asher pulled out a Frisbee and proceeded to "teach" his father how to throw it correctly, so that the other person could actually catch it! LOL!

So, my best advice on getting the family together for quality time would be to say that it doesn't have to be something monumental or greatly detailed and planned. It should just be a moment when there are no tv's, video games, cell phones, or other interruptions. Nothing big needs to occur. But, it seems that during these meaningless moments are truly when the best memories are created. I know that these little ones are going to grow up and move on to their own families someday. (sniff, sniff) I really want to enjoy this time together with them now. It really is true that the cleaning (and crafting, and organizing, and . . . ) can wait.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Zoe,

I love the "little" times in life with my kids. Sometimes the simplest days are the most special!

Lei said...

it's true - some things you would normally be doing make the greatest family activities!

Shionge said...

Zoe, I attend a talk once whereby the speaker told us "Major in Major thing...don't Major in Minor thing"

It has always stuck on me that household chores can wait..our children will grow up and leave us.

Yes....bonding with the Family is so important and glad you had nice day :D

Have a wonderful weekend...remember....minor thing can wait :) Luv you!

Montserrat said...

I agree! The unplanned, simple moments spent together make for some of the best memories.