I'm thankful for the rain...I AM. I am. No, really...I am. But the kids are stir crazy and I'm about zapped of any strength I may have thought I had. Our backyard? Well, can you say M-U-D? Oh, for a mud room or an outdoor patio.
The past week or so has been trips to the doctor and chaos unleashed as we try to get everything in. Then it hits me. This is all so silly.
We watched a film called Clare and Frances about the two Saints. It hit me that we in America live lives so completely ridiculous that others must laugh at us from afar. Well, they'd laugh if they had a lens to watch through. I guess they do - the TV. Anyway, how futile are our attempts to consume time through pursuits of the mundane.
I'm not saying there aren't valuable things to do with our time. But we are overachievers to the point of the ridiculous and cannot see the value of silence, quiet and home. My kids do too much and I see them not excelling. This bothers me. We need to step back and consider - what is really beneficial to them? Will they be blessed more by doing these activities or by staying in and praying the rosary as a family or playing a game together? Silly question.
I see them someday playing the cello or violin in church, or maybe dancing a solo part in the Nutcracker. But at what cost to their soul? Should earning a patch in a scout troop supercede learning to listen and talk and enjoy one another? Hmmm.
Of course these questions are rhetorical and we all know the answers. The question is, do we (do I) have the courage to weed them out?
Here's my challenge to myself and those of you who read me. Look at everything you do and decide what can go and DO it...cut the strings and let it fly. Listen to the rain from your living room filled with the laughter and love of your family. See how often you can look at the calendar and sigh a sigh of contentment because...there's nothing on it!
The past week or so has been trips to the doctor and chaos unleashed as we try to get everything in. Then it hits me. This is all so silly.
We watched a film called Clare and Frances about the two Saints. It hit me that we in America live lives so completely ridiculous that others must laugh at us from afar. Well, they'd laugh if they had a lens to watch through. I guess they do - the TV. Anyway, how futile are our attempts to consume time through pursuits of the mundane.
I'm not saying there aren't valuable things to do with our time. But we are overachievers to the point of the ridiculous and cannot see the value of silence, quiet and home. My kids do too much and I see them not excelling. This bothers me. We need to step back and consider - what is really beneficial to them? Will they be blessed more by doing these activities or by staying in and praying the rosary as a family or playing a game together? Silly question.
I see them someday playing the cello or violin in church, or maybe dancing a solo part in the Nutcracker. But at what cost to their soul? Should earning a patch in a scout troop supercede learning to listen and talk and enjoy one another? Hmmm.
Of course these questions are rhetorical and we all know the answers. The question is, do we (do I) have the courage to weed them out?
Here's my challenge to myself and those of you who read me. Look at everything you do and decide what can go and DO it...cut the strings and let it fly. Listen to the rain from your living room filled with the laughter and love of your family. See how often you can look at the calendar and sigh a sigh of contentment because...there's nothing on it!
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