Time

DON'T LOOK BACK!!The question is not whether or not we have enough time--- but whether or not we are making a difference with the time we have. Time does not rewind--- it only moves forward. My little guy woke up the other morning, not feeling well. With the flu buzzing around at epidemic proportions, I decided he should stay home from school. As most 5th graders, he was not too terribly disappointed at this prospect. So, the morning hours were spent getting him drinks, filling up warm bathtubs, microwaving rice bags for tummy aches, and just plain meeting the needs of this little prince. In between trips to the kitchen and bathroom, I secured his loving grandparents to come take over for a couple of hours while I went to school and work. When I arrived home, I found both he and his grandfather, quite involved in a passionate game of Monopoly. Grandpa slipped out the door to get to an appointment, and I slipped into his position and rolled the dice. For the first few turns, my mind wandered and was filled with all the things I needed to be doing around the house, for school and for other kids. I would soon hear, "Mom, hello, it's your turn!" "Mom, do I have to keep reminding you---- I'm winning!" "Mom, roll the dice!" Suddenly a thought from Stephen R. Covey came to mind, "Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what's important!" There were a myriad of urgent things that were worthy of my attention, however, playing Monopoly with my son, who will only be 10 once, who will not always find it cool to play a board game with his mom, was definitely more IMPORTANT than anything urgent. So, for the next 2 hours, I bought property, paid taxes, went to jail, won 2 million dollars and rolled the dice as we both rubbed our hands together and sang, "Big money----C'mon..... big money!" But most importantly, my son knew that for those 2 hours, nothing else mattered.....but him! Time is not something you find, but something you make. So, for the past few days, I have really tried to re-evaluate what is URGENT and what is IMPORTANT. I have found myself beginning to fold laundry, and ending up dancing in the kitchen with teenagers. Or, studying in the office and ending up on my high school senior's bed having conversations worth more than any ticketed price. I have headed out the door to run an errand, and come right back in to tuck in kids before they fall asleep. And, even now, I sat down to type a Government paper, but ended up making a post about "Time" on this blog, instead. I have found that "time" doesn't really matter, but people do. And, if we spend our time judging them, we won't have enough time to love them. Loving takes time---and we all have 24 hours a day to do exactly that-----Love others and make a difference!! And, as the picture of this post so beautifully illustrates-------------DON'T LOOK BACK!!