2011 so far is definitely a year of getting my hands dirtier!
It feels good. Tiring, but good.
I'm not talking literally about gardening and sticking my hands in peat moss (although I really DO have that on my to-do list for this year, as I miss my futile attempts to make something grow).
What I set out to do in 2011 was achieve better balance ... and to really invest myself into something that MATTERED. I wanted to use my time here in India to get my hands dirty. Get out there. Volunteer. Spend my time on something that made a difference.
I wanted to do less lunching and more teaching. I wanted to do less touring and more photographing. I wanted to do less complaining and more encouraging.
You know what I've been realizing, some 150 days into this year?
My FAMILY is what matters.
I can give parts of myself to tens of projects, sign up for various things, do this and do that ... but at the end of the day, what I have rediscovered (and am still learning) is that my children are absolute joys. They are little beings that I would line up to be friends with (Thanks Monica for that borrowed statement!).
They are well adjusted, charming, honest and (for the most part) content kiddos.
They are well adjusted, charming, honest and (for the most part) content kiddos.
So yes, I'm doing things like Make a Difference, serving in an executive role with the AWA, tshirts with the Fading Ladies, working on the Ripple Effects Images project, and still aiming to bring lacrosse to Delhi ... but what I'm needing to invest in these days is my own three mini people.
I talked a bit on Wednesday about how much I am hit with the fact that I only "have" two more years with Terran before he's off to explore a world where he creates his own schedule and destiny.
We have our littlest little starting kindergarten this Fall and wow ... all of a sudden I'm realizing that whether I like it or not, these kiddos are growing up before our eyes.
Sure, I need to keep myself busy with volunteer opportunities and activities (this Fall will bring even more hours in the day that I will feel the need to fill) but I am going to :
Getting my hands dirty is a necessary part of my ultimate satisfaction level, but so is knowing that I've done the very best that I could with the precious children that have been entrusted to me.
We have our littlest little starting kindergarten this Fall and wow ... all of a sudden I'm realizing that whether I like it or not, these kiddos are growing up before our eyes.
Sure, I need to keep myself busy with volunteer opportunities and activities (this Fall will bring even more hours in the day that I will feel the need to fill) but I am going to :
- try my best to snuggle more
- read to them before bedtime
- continue making french toast for breakfast even if it means I don't have time to drink my coffee before it gets cold
- encourage Terran to hang out and watch a movie with me every so often instead of allowing him to just hibernate in his man cave
- actually engage with them while they're in the bathtub, instead of reading a book
- listen when Terran talks to me (am embarrassed to admit that too often I tune him out!)
- embark in meaningful conversations with them on the way to/from school
- and ask them how their day was
Getting my hands dirty is a necessary part of my ultimate satisfaction level, but so is knowing that I've done the very best that I could with the precious children that have been entrusted to me.
