Remembering What Is Important

During the wildfires here in San Diego, our little City of Poway lost 80 homes and our neighboring community of Rancho Bernardo lost twice as many homes. From all the stories and heartaches there is one that stays in my mind at all times and I try to reflect on each day so I thought I would share.

One of the members of our church who lost his home was standing and staring at the burnt remains of what was once his proud home. He pointed to a piece of his property and told a story that was relayed later to my husband and I. He said right there was a section of his front yard that he was so proud of. He spent numerous hours every weekend carefully pruning that area and taking care of the flowers and plants. He recalled a specific time when his daughter asked him to help her ride her bike but he explained he was too busy working as he probably had told her on numerous other weekends. He stared at the burnt rubble where that beautiful garden was and realized he had passed on a special moment and memory with his daughter over a piece of yard that was no longer there and that never had really mattered as much spending time with his family.

Whether you are a working parent or a stay home parent, I think we can all try to apply this lesson into our lives. It is so hard to balance being mothers, teachers, wives, housekeepers, counselors, friends, organizers and the numerous other titles we wear each day. There are times when I catch myself getting frustrated with my kids for interrupting me when I am trying to write an email and then I have to stop and take a reality check and remind myself I run this business, write my blog, sew like a mad woman and what seems like so much more so I can be home to ENJOY my children, not just be in the same house with them. Some days I am successful, some days I feel like a failure but I know the next day I will work even harder to find the right balance!