"As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others." -Audrey Hepburn
I'm one of those people that makes 'To Do Lists.' Yes. Lists. Plural. Lists are oozing out of my pockets, my bags, my car and my armpits. Ok, maybe not the armpits but still, I think you catch my drift. I LOVE lists! They keep me organized and motivated. They add a little skip in my step when at the end of the day, each 'to do' has been crossed off the list. Maybe you can relate, or maybe at this point you will now stop reading this blog because you officially think I'm a nut case. I don't care. I'm a list addict and I'm proud of it.
My lists are full of bills that have to get paid, mountains of laundry, cleaning, appointments, more laundry and grocery shopping. Grocery shopping has to be my least favorite thing to do.......especially with the kids. Racing through the aisles as quickly as possible before one of my kids decides he or she has had enough. The distractions are no longer distracting, the goldfish have been eaten, the baby is over the key janggling trick and my three year old son is just not into being mommy's little helper today. I have run out of FUN and I still have to pay! Inevitably, I forget something. It drives me nuts! But, when I'm done, I pick up that pen and I happily slice it off the list.
Besides the usual mundane tasks, my 'To-Do-Lists' also include work, husband and dog. But at the very tip top of my to do's, are my children. And let me tell you, their list can get very long. Just going to a park for the afternoon can add a whole load of to do's in my bag. When they are parched, I have a drink. When they are hungry, I have food. When they get hurt, I have a band aid. Before any other item on the list, my children are the priority. They are number one. I make my kid's daily lives a little smoother and their routines a little easier. As moms, that's what we do. We carry our bags filled with the glue that keeps our children connected, the nourishment that feeds their brains and their souls, the silliness that makes them laugh and the arms that hold their cries. And we always cross these moments off our lists with love. But as everyone and everything gets added to our lists, it gets longer and longer, until there is no more room left for us.
Well, every year, I add a little space for myself by taping a great big ME list on my wall. I don't think of these listed items as tasks, duties or responsibilities. This list is full of undertakings, missions and assignments from the heart and for the heart. It's my own special list......and I love it! But, to be honest, I rarely cross off more than one undertaking a year because these items are at the bottom of the list. But what I've come to realize, is that in order to be all that I can be for my husband, my dog, my job and especially, my kids, I also need to be a priority on the 'To-Do-List.' I have unknowingly put myself below the mundane tasks of laundry and trips to the cleaners. Can you believe that? Those duties will get done eventually, because let's face it, wearing clean underwear is important. But if I don't make the ME list a priority too, I might get lost in the shuffle of to do's. And in the end, I won't know who ME is.
So if you love yourself a good list, I invite you to write your ME list down and look at it every morning. I encourage you to make yourself a priority for at least this week. Maybe it will give you the jolt you need to move forward......to throw a noodle or two......to fulfill that part inside of you that makes you, YOU. Because when you find time for YOU, all the other to do's benefit too.
Don't lose that YOU in the shuffle of to do's. Pick up that pen and put yourself on the To-Do-List today!
Comment or email me at elena@noodleonthewall.com
Besides the usual mundane tasks, my 'To-Do-Lists' also include work, husband and dog. But at the very tip top of my to do's, are my children. And let me tell you, their list can get very long. Just going to a park for the afternoon can add a whole load of to do's in my bag. When they are parched, I have a drink. When they are hungry, I have food. When they get hurt, I have a band aid. Before any other item on the list, my children are the priority. They are number one. I make my kid's daily lives a little smoother and their routines a little easier. As moms, that's what we do. We carry our bags filled with the glue that keeps our children connected, the nourishment that feeds their brains and their souls, the silliness that makes them laugh and the arms that hold their cries. And we always cross these moments off our lists with love. But as everyone and everything gets added to our lists, it gets longer and longer, until there is no more room left for us.
Well, every year, I add a little space for myself by taping a great big ME list on my wall. I don't think of these listed items as tasks, duties or responsibilities. This list is full of undertakings, missions and assignments from the heart and for the heart. It's my own special list......and I love it! But, to be honest, I rarely cross off more than one undertaking a year because these items are at the bottom of the list. But what I've come to realize, is that in order to be all that I can be for my husband, my dog, my job and especially, my kids, I also need to be a priority on the 'To-Do-List.' I have unknowingly put myself below the mundane tasks of laundry and trips to the cleaners. Can you believe that? Those duties will get done eventually, because let's face it, wearing clean underwear is important. But if I don't make the ME list a priority too, I might get lost in the shuffle of to do's. And in the end, I won't know who ME is.
So if you love yourself a good list, I invite you to write your ME list down and look at it every morning. I encourage you to make yourself a priority for at least this week. Maybe it will give you the jolt you need to move forward......to throw a noodle or two......to fulfill that part inside of you that makes you, YOU. Because when you find time for YOU, all the other to do's benefit too.
Don't lose that YOU in the shuffle of to do's. Pick up that pen and put yourself on the To-Do-List today!
Comment or email me at elena@noodleonthewall.com
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