Stop Being so efficient!!!

Two days ago my son set up all of his little army figures in army formation and came to me and said, "Mom, will you play army with me?"

The first thought I had was, 'I can't right now, because I am trying to get this canning done.'

The second thought I had was, 'maybe I can play for just a few minutes to say that I did and then get back to the canning.'

Luckily, I didn't act upon any of those thoughts.

I looked at the army guys and looked at my son's face. I realized that army is not a fast game, and it isn't meant to be. It's meant to be a game where you figure strategy, and discuss, and battle until there is not a man standing. His set has about 200 army men. 😉

I remembered the words of a wise old woman that I swim with every day. Speaking of going to bed early she said, "There is nothing that can't wait until the morning. We just tell ourselves that we have to do it then and then jeopardize a good night's sleep." (Of course this doesn't really apply to those with babies who still wake up at night.)

I looked at the canning again and realized that the canning COULD wait, but my son WOULDN'T wait. If I didn't have this moment with him right now, I might not get another. We played army men and then I tidied up the kitchen and went to bed. It was a great night, and guess what? The apricots were still there in the morning. Go figure. We don't really have to go as fast as we think we have to. Life is too precious to waste chasing things that don't really matter. My relationship with my son is forever, apricots aren't; even though the jam is great.

This week I am putting the computer away to spend quality time with my family in the great outdoors. I challenge you to do the same. There are so many great books you could read to your children or games you could play, or walks you could take…

ENJOY!

Nicholeen