Properly Prioritizing Our Time… Because It’s All We Have!

One night, many years ago, I was faced with a decision. Should I write my daily blog, or should I sit in my daughter’s room telling exciting stories to my children? We had friends in town staying with us, and it was a tradition in our home that when friends come to stay, I gather them together and tell them one of my famous choose-your-own-ending type stories.

The children were all very excited for storytime. I couldn’t let them down by choosing to write my blog post instead of spending time with the children. Then the thought hit me, “Wait a minute! I’m trying to decide between writing a blog vs. spending time with the children?? How could I even consider letting them down! Why would I ever choose to lose this time with my children just because I didn’t take the time earlier in the day to write my blog?” 

The fact that I was even considering missing storytime was scary to me.

But that night I made the wise choice. I told a grand story about knights, princes, princesses, gratitude, sword fights, theft, justice and kindness. They were so excited after the story, I wondered if they would even go to bed. I hoped they would have inspiring dreams!

I still wrote my blog post that night, but I knew it was going to be a short post because I had properly prioritized by giving more time to the children. And I was completely, 100 percent OKAY with that. 

That’s my message for today. How often do we lose sight of what really matters, like bedtime stories, because we have our priorities all messed up? Children won’t remember if you cleaned the house before bed, but they will never forget the great times they had hearing you make up stories that they loved.

My children also love stories from my life. Many nights my children will say, “Tonight, can you tell us a true story from your life?” These stories teach them my history, help them know me better, and open conversations about what’s right and wrong in life. Start telling your children stories about your life, and you’ll be surprised how excited they’ll be to learn more about you.

We really only have just a short time with our children. These will be some of the best years of our lives. We should start NOW, on a regular basis, living like the here and now is the best time for us to invest time in our children. The greatest gift we’ve been given is time. We can either make time grow by turning it into memories, or we can watch time fly away by always worrying about all the “to dos” and missing countless memory-making moments.

Slow down and make some memories today. Enjoy! Play! Inspire! Love! Time is all we’ve got!

Nicholeen