Family Time Friday

So sorry to any who were looking forward to my very first Family Time Friday post.  I am deep in edits right now, so I kind of lost track of time today. I also wasn't able to get the guest blogger I wanted to come on until next week. 

So, I'll just post a few thoughts I've had recently .  As I mentioned above, I've been editing all week.  My mother-in-law was kind enough to take my boy so that I could get this done faster, but I've really missed him while he's been gone.

I love writing with all of my heart.  I have to to be able to spend five twelve hour days plowing straight through edits in a manuscript. But this week, I felt keenly how much writing pales in comparison to the work I do as a wife and a mother.  Loving, mothering and wiving my son and husband bring a light and warmth and satisfaction into my life that is irreplaceable.  While my boy has been gone, I realized that one day he will move out, and I'll fill my life with other things, but all those other things I do will never feel as important as what I'm doing right now in raising him.

I was also reminded that it's the little things we do for those we love that make the biggest difference.  Reading with my son, playing catch, helping him build the forty-seventh rocket ship out of Lego's without tearing my hair out, that's what tells your kid you love them.  I do not claim to be very good at this, as a matter-of-fact, learning to play with my son has been the hardest thing about being a mother for me, because that time wasn't taken with me as a child.  But--and here is the big but--I can remember how I felt when my parent's did take the time, and in spite of all the really ugly stuff I saw as a kid, those moments seem to be what my subconscious chooses to remember most.

I take a lot of hope in that as a mom.  I screw up a ton, I blow chances to build great memories with my son on a weekly basis, but I keep trying and learning--keep re-adjusting, keep apologizing and that is what will ultimately make the difference when the time comes to look back at how I did.

So, be courageous!  Keep learning, keep readjusting, keep trying to make things work with your loved ones, whether they're your parents, your spouse, or your kids.  You'll never do more important work in your entire life.  I honestly and truly believe that.

So, there you go.



P.S. Just a heads up for my next Family Time Friday; be thinking about your favorite family traditions.  Next week, my guest will be posting about the importance of them in strengthening our families.  I'd love for you to come on and share your own if you like.