Not enough hours in the day...

I've been riding on a bit of a high these past few days because of the small writing successes I've had. (I had another feature today at SMITH Magazine!) However, today I've also been bogged down by all that I need to do and never seem to have time for: the Christmas decorations that still need to be put in storage, the boxes of books I need to sort through, the papers that need to be filed, the closets that need to be cleaned...  The list goes on (and on). I'm sure I'm not the only mom out there whose to-do list seems to stretch out to infinity.

However--and this is a pep talk not only for me but for all moms--the fact of the matter is that there simply aren't enough hours in the day to do everything. We have to choose. We can care for our kids, cook dinner, do laundry, run errands, and clean the kitchen, or we can care for our kids, cook dinner, vacuum, wash clothes, and mop the bathroom floor. But the point is we can't do everything in one day, and I think the best thing we can do when we feel burdened and even paralyzed by all the tasks before us is to remind ourselves of what's really important--family. After all, what matters most, spending time with our loved ones or having a spotless floor? I find that if I take care of my family first, I somehow find the time to do the things that need to be done each day. And all those other things, those tasks that I never seem to have time for, the ones that hang over my head? Well, I've decided that they'll get done when they get done, and I need to stop stressing about things that I can't do immediately. They'll wait.

So tonight I'm going to spend time with my family instead of sorting papers. I'm going to take a little time to write and recharge once the kids are in bed. And I'm going to stop worrying about the things in life that really don't matter all that much. Who cares if the boxes of Christmas ornaments are still piled on our bedroom floor? They'll get put away eventually. But those little children that helped me put those ornaments on the tree? They need me now--and they have me.