24 Hours in a Day...

I read somewhere that with 24 hours in the day, 8 of them being used up in sleep and 8 more being used up in "work"...where do the other 8 go?

I think I waste a ton of time, that's where.

So where does all my wasting go?  In the mornings, it's throw on some make up while the eggs are scrambling, beg J to eat said eggs and watch him ride off to school.

Heart Tug #1.

I rouse T and try to charm him into brushing his teeth, wearing a clean shirt and getting to the bus on time.

Heart Tug #2.

Then I do my hair while I'm trying to coax Lu into waking up happy and run out the door almost on time.

Heart Tug #3.

I get home from work, do something for dinner, get everyone where they need to be for the evening and BAM, it's bed time.  And usually the dishes aren't done, there's a load of laundry that either needs to be started, finished or folded and everyone's stuff is still laying right where they dropped it upon entering the house. Then add on whatever from the previous day and to be completely honest, sometimes I just don't want to do much at the end of the day.

I feel overwhelmed.  Often.

I know I need to lighten up and quit putting the extra pressure of "unattainable perfection" on myself, which ends up with me being cranky with everyone else, and that's never fun.  Houses really are never clean and laundry is really never done.  8 hours just seems like enough time to get some thing else significantly done and by the looks of my house, it ought to be a little higher on the priority list.  Or I could organize something.  Everywhere I look there is some "thing" that I could do.  That I should do.  I feel like a duck.  Calm on the surface and paddling like crazy under water.

Maybe the real questions is how should I use my time?  Continual effort in having a "House of Order"?  That is a valid thing of real importance.  I want the house relatively manageable so friends want to come hang out without me cringing at the mess.  I think a huge part is the effort we require of our kids vs the effort they actually put in.  We have a chores/rewards system that really doesn't work right now and I'm thinking some slight tweaking is in order.  If I do it all myself, what am I really teaching them?  Their efforts aren't good enough?  They can be lazy while someone else is working?  I know when my kids are grown and gone and my house is clean for more than 5 minutes, these are the days that I'll miss.  This quote from Thomas S. Monson kind of says it all.

I should place at a high priority giving them what they really need, even if it doesn't stack up to me being able to tick things off on a check-list.  Sometimes it is the physical-ness of a clean bathroom or a clean shirt, for sure.  Who better to learn life skills from than parents who love them.

Sometimes it's listening to the long version of a story about someone whom knowing isn't in the top 5 of the 100 things I have to get done.  Being invested in the small moments lead to having the larger moments.  Getting lots and lots of hugs and "sit by me's" is one of the best parts of my day.  It fills the void left from the heart tugs.  Running here and there, dropping off and picking up, supporting everyone is what we do together.  I over hear their conversations in the car and find out snippets of who they are when I'm not around.

As I'm feeling drained and exhausted from my day, I really should focus on them, and really be there in those moments because they need me.  The best me I can give.  I need them too.  By not having those 8 work hours with them, it makes me want the time I do have with them to be special.  "Wasting" time in a good way, which means it's not really wasted time at all.