Outside My Southern Comfort Zone: Priorities

Since becoming a mother, I've struggled with what my priorities should be. First of all, being a parent has taught me to lower my daily expectations... and then lower them some more. I'm the type who likes to get it all done (and on my schedule). Whatever is on my to-do list, I try to knock it out as soon as I possibly can.

Well, this isn't really possible when you have an infant. They pretty much set your schedule for you... eat... play... nap... poop... etc. And you work around them. In the beginning, I would get kinda frustrated that I didn't get as much done at nap time as I might have wanted to. At the end of the day, I would think of all the things I DIDN'T get done.

When Clayton was somewhere around 4 weeks old, my priority shifted. I realized that I was halfway through my maternity leave and not savoring every moment with my rapidly growing newborn. So, I stopped worrying about having a clean house, or clean clothes (or taking a shower). I started focusing all my energy on my sweet baby boy. Every playtime, I was on the floor playing with him... reading to him... smiling at him... etc. My days instantly became more enjoyable. Even breastfeeding became SO much more enjoyable! Instead of it feeling like a task (that was keeping me from completing other tasks), it became a sweet time of bonding with my son that I started to look forward to!

And today's church sermon was about our priorities in life. It taught me that this busy lifestyle we are so used to, shouldn't be our priority. My focus shouldn't be on how much I can get done in one day. My focus should be on God - thanking him for the amazingness that is this life. And my focus should be on my family - loving on this sweet little blessing as much as I possibly can while I can (and loving on the dog and my husband too)! It should be about talking with family back home. Playing with the dog outside. And taking some time for myself (reading, yoga, etc - after all, you can't pour from an empty vessel). The rest can wait.

By the way, at the end of the day, instead of listing all the things I didn't get done, I list off all the things I DID get done. It's always more than I realized and makes me feel better about myself. Some days all I did was keep a tiny human alive AND let the dog out to poop (but those are monumental tasks sometimes).

Without further ado: some pictures of my new priority...