Mom, dad, I get it. There’s just one more thing you need to get done. Right after that one other thing, which of course, is right after the other thing. There’s always just one…more…thing. Does it ever stop?!?
Mom, dad, I get it. There’s just one more thing you need to get done. Right after that one other thing, which of course, is right after the other thing. There’s always just one…more…thing. Does it ever stop?!?
The truth is, no, IT never stops. Which means it’s up to YOU to do the stopping.
Busyness is certainly nothing new, but we are living in a day when parents are wearing “busy” and “exhausted” as badges at an alarming rate – as if the quality of our parenting equals the quantity of our activity. Let me let you in on a little secret… SPOILER ALERT: it doesn’t!
SPOILER ALERT: the quality of your parenting does not equal the quantity of your activity.
For parents, it is true what they say: the days are long, but the years are short. The lie that “busy” tells you is “you’ll have time for it later”. And then later comes, then comes again, and again, and before you know it, you look up and all the “laters” have come and gone and in the meantime, you missed out on the many everyday moments that are such a gift in the life of a parent.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Dove Award-winning singer/songwriter, Nichole Nordeman, about her own battle with busy. Mostly known for her beautiful music, Nichole released her first book, Slow Down: Embracing the Everyday Moments of Motherhood last year. The book was inspired by her song “Slow Down”, which she wrote as a letter to her daughters about seeing them grow up too fast, and not wanting to miss a single, tender moment.
Here is the touching song that inspired the book:
Nicole had a wonderful conversation about watching out kids grow up too quickly, the cost of being busy, making unpopular choices and what it looked like to put her career on pause at its height in order to be present for her family. You can listen to our conversation in the podcast player above.
If you find yourself fighting the battle of busy struggling to be present for the everyday moments in your life, here are 4 things I want to challenge you with:
1. Slow Down! Seriously. Make a commitment to yourself to slow down the pace of your life. In order to do this, you will need to make some changes- either in the activities that your kids are involved in or in the activities/work schedule that you have. Find ONE thing that you can either cut back on or completely remove that will open up time in your life for you to breathe a bit. It will be hard but remember, giving yourself the gift of time or your child the gift of more time with you will bring you only good. NOTHING bad comes from spending more time with your family and giving yourself more unhurried time will dramatically improve the quality of your life. So, make changes, small changes at first, and do not be afraid!