Goals sometimes get the best of me. There is so much to learn, to do, to become. Our days become too full. I am always thinking about what’s next rather than what’s now; to do rather than to be.
Our Sundays got lost for a few weeks in my ambitious desire to do. January sometimes does that to me. My plans for the day included a big family breakfast, scheduling out the week, paying the kids the extra money they had earned from jobs the week before, having family home evening, doing family history with Josh, writing in journals with all three kids and going to church for three hours. In the process, I was losing what made Sundays special, the absence of regular responsibilities, the opportunity to play – to be, as a family.
We kept the big family breakfast, calendar and paying the kids and ditched the rest. Not completely, sometimes one thing or another still happens, but now we have structure and freedom. Progress toward a goal and rest.
A recent article I read reminded me of the all-important word… AND.
They say you can’t have it all. It’s true you can’t, not all at once. But…
We need work and play
time alone and time with friends
noise and quiet
wide open spaces and cities
spinach and sugar cookies
judgement and mercy
timeouts and hugs
and, and, and.
We need stress to appreciate the peace.
Whiny kids to appreciate their giggles
Loss to know what we have.
The AND adds the balance, the meaning, the joy.