My daughter’s birthday was this week. When my husband and I decided to start a family, I planned quite poorly. Both of our children were born during tax season, my daughter close to deadline day. I have been asked the question more than once this week, “Mom, you’re not going to work on my birthday, right?” I hate that she has to ask. I hate that I say I won’t, secretly knowing that I am going to sneak in a call or an email, or likely, a quick payroll run. I want to say no and mean it. Then, while we were eating ice cream on Monday, Kaden came up with a nickname for me…Tick-Tock-Tonia. In his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman says “…the [invention of] the clock made us into time-keepers, and then time-savers, and now time-servers.” When my son spoke those words, my heart was grieved, immensely. I am a time-server.
What my son doesn’t know is that I am reading a half a dozen books at the moment dealing with time-management. I have become very aware that the 168 hours I receive each week are unfairly distributed between the things that truly matter to me. If you were to peek at my Libby shelf, my current reading list consists of titles such as Hands Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford, Sidetracked Home Executives by Pam Young, Clutter Busting by Brooks Palmer, and 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam. There are several others with similar themes. My pastor says “God uses people.” And in that moment, God used my son to remind me that there is a battle for my time, and he feels like he is losing.
As tax season comes to a close, I find myself saying next year will be different. But I feel like I said that last year, and probably the year before. And yet, here I am, mid-April with a full plate and an empty cup. And while I am at it…two empty garden boxes in my front yard. My sister said last night that the light at the end of the tunnel provides a distraction so that we are able to more easily cope with our current circumstances. In their book Organizing Your Day, Sandra Felton & Marsha Sims tell me that “…time management, which is really activity management, which actually boils down to self-management.” So, tonight, I have my eye fixed on the light, as I wade through the sea of paperwork, deadline looming, and I remind myself of Proverbs 25:28. I think that is where I will find the key to change. #buildthewall (Read the scripture, that hashtag has no political connotation!) (P.S. Libby is a free app where you can connect your library card and read and listen to tons of books for free. You’re welcome.)
Uncommonly Common Mom 