Family Second

My Second Priority:  Family

                I can remember when Curt and I first got married.  I worked 7:00 -2:00 and he worked 2:00-11:00.  He got a break between shows from 7:00-9:00 and he’d come home for supper.  Those two hours were the highlight of my day!  I’d have supper cooked and waiting on the table.  I’d even have the ice in the cups and in the freezer.  Then I’d wait for him to get home.  When he walked in the door I stopped everything else I was doing, got the glasses out of the freezer, poured us some sweet tea and we sat at the table and ate.    We’d spend those two hours together then once he went back to work I went back to whatever I was doing around the house.  Even though we only saw each other a couple hours a day I think we actually spent more time together then than later on when we started working the same hours.  We knew we only had those two hours and we made the most of it!

“Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family for granted.”  Paul Pearshall

               Why is it so easy to say we’d give our life for a family member yet so hard to take time out of our daily schedule for them?  Instead we take them for granted.   Not only do they often get the short end of our time but the short end of our temper and mouth too!  In the last few months, I’ve gotten back to cherishing family time.  I love where my little family is right now!   I’m blessed not only with a wonderful husband but we now have little "Miss Priss" who will be two in just a few months.   

               Some of my favorite days are those when I get to stay at home all day!  Playing with Miss Priss in the morning, doing housework throughout the day, cooking supper and once again waiting on Curt to come home!  It may not seem like much to you but those are the days I feel most accomplished!

               I truly believe being a wife and Mom are two of the most important jobs I’ll ever have!  It’s our (Curt and I’s) job to lay a strong foundation for Miss Priss.  That’s one of the main reasons family is so important.  I love this quote by John W. Whitehead: 

“Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.” 

              Whether we realize it or not, we as Moms and Dads, are shaping our future through our children.  For the most part, that is done within the home and within the family.

How I plan on living it out:

1.        Family Night – We’ve just started a weekly Family Night.  On Tuesday nights we do something just the 3 of us.  It doesn’t have to be anything big or expensive.  In fact, my goal is to spend $10 or less.  Last Tuesday night we went to a place about 3 miles from our home, Camp Sumatanga, and let Miss Priss play on the playground.  She’s all about slides right now!  Then we fed the geese and fished for a bit.  We came back to the house had a hotdog and then went 4-wheeler riding.  Nothing spectacular – just the three of us hanging out and we had a blast!  Tuesday night is quickly becoming one of my favorite nights of the week!

2.       Tot School – This will be my way of spending quality time with Miss Priss while she’s also learning!  It’s very easy, as I mentioned last week, to become a “Martha” and get so caught up in housework and everything else that’ s going on  that I forget the real reason I’m home – to take care of and spend time with Miss Priss!  I also used to teach a 2 and 3 year old class at a daycare so I know how much they are capable of learning at this age.   This also comes from the teacher in me and my background in early childhood education.  Over the last couple of months I’ve actually looked at some formal curriculums and was about to order one when I came upon the website for Tot School.  It was perfect for us because it’ll allow us a scheduled time to spend together while playing and learning but it’s still very flexible and simple!  In fact Tot School is not school at all but more of an organized play time!  We’ll do Tot School Monday-Wednesday and then Friday will be Field Trip day!  I’m planning on starting it with Miss Priss next Monday so I’ll give more details then!

               How do you make time for your family?  Do you have a “family night” or something special you do with your child?  I’d love to hear about it!