Thursday, July 26, 2007

Priorities

Things I've Not Done in the Past Month or So
  1. Devote as much time and energy to schoolwork as I should.
  2. Focus on the things I should be focusing on while at work.
  3. Go to the gym as much as I'd like.
  4. Devote as much time and energy to my friends as I'd like to.
  5. Devote as much time and energy to my non-immediate family as I'd like to.
  6. Write (other than blogging, and this is true of much more than the last month or so).
Things I Have Done in the Past Month or So
  1. Go to the zoo with Foxy and the kids.
  2. Pick blueberries with Foxy and the kids.
  3. Go to the store (actually, many stores) with Foxy and the kids (and spend way more money than we should).
  4. Go for walks with Foxy and the kids.
  5. Go to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with Foxy.
  6. Stay up late talking to Foxy (well, a few times--we're far too practical and I'm far too sleepy at night to stay up late very often).
I'm in this weird place where I can't really complain that I don't have enough time--I have all sorts of leisure time and I enjoy it--but there's so much I'm not getting done. It's important to me that my family be my first priority, and that they know it based not just on what I say but what I do. And spending all this time doing fun things with them feels almost like--dare I say it?--a real live summer vacation.

The hard thing about priorities is that the things that are less important are still important, and it hurts to neglect them. I don't think it's a matter of finding more balance, either. I think it's a matter of accepting that some things just aren't going to get done, no matter how important they are, and then choosing which things are going to get done.

I'm happy with my choices.
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6 comments:

  1. Mama7/26/2007 6:09 PM

    Mr. Master Friend of Self - check out this link! I saw this today and thought of you. Reading it should be a top priority...it involved Lauryn Hill. :)

    http://blogs.sohh.com/ya_heard/2007/07/lauryn_hill_sti.html

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  2. B.G. Christensen7/26/2007 6:15 PM

    Lauryn Hill is indeed a top priority, and in fact I read that very article just a few minutes ago because it came up on my daily Google News Alert for Lauryn Hill-related articles.

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  3. Mama7/26/2007 6:17 PM

    Oh, and in regards to prioritizing...

    I often think to myself, when I am playing with the kids or doing something with the family when I could be working on some project or duty, that my children are only little once. My oldest is now almost 8, and my middle daughter is 6. Already, they are not as anxious to be with me and do the things I'd love to do with them as they were a couple of years ago. Savor eeeeeevery minute of being a dad in love with his family. I don't think you'll ever regret it.

    Syrupy - but true.

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  4. Mrs. Hass-Bark7/27/2007 5:57 AM

    I think you're right. Sometimes things just aren't going to get done. Or at least not done very well. It's hard to accept that once you realize it.

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  5. COOLGUY7/27/2007 11:34 AM

    I challenge you to find me one documented instance of a father saying during his last moments -"I sure wish I would have spent less time with my children..."

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  6. TK7/28/2007 7:15 AM

    "There is a time and a season . . ."

    Similar to the last comment, I can't imagine Foxy or one of the kids saying now, much less sometime in the future, 'Gee, I sure wish that when we were little, Dad would have been a more accomplished writer/more physically fit/won more honors in college, etc, etc, INSTEAD OF JUST SPENDING SO MUCH TIME WITH US!

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