Prioritze..It's A MUST

Being a Woman comes with a lot of responsibility. Responsibility falls on us when we were born a woman. I love this word responsibility but it comes with quite a burden and let me tell you why. I am the oldest of my family and that means automatically I am the guinea pig. Every first good thing, every mistake, every reward or flop was made at my expense. This made me work harder, dream bigger and have desires that made me who I am. I always had a job. I loved babysitting and I loved buying my 3 outfits for school every year. (My mom swears she would give me school money for clothes and because I wanted "designer" clothes, I only could afford 3 outfits). Whether true or not I never settled for anything I didn't think I worked hard for. I remember saving my money and I finally had enough $$ for a Liz Claiborne purse. It was the smallest purse they made and it was $65. I bought that purse and it seems my sisters benefited from my expenditures because I am certain I gave it away when I needed a better purse and more updated.

But I was responsible. As I grew older and became a wife my husband made it very clear that the women stay home and take care of the home and children (we had no children at the time) and the men work and provide. I was devastated and I think I actually packed my bags that night and left for a while. I couldn't believe that I was going to put my whole life in someone else's hands. I wasn't that easily convinced. As I began to have children and create a family with this male chauvinist (ha-ha) I realized timing and planning began to be very important. I didn't want to define myself as a women who irons and changed dirty diapers all day. I wanted to be grateful for the opportunity to be a mother and really find pride and pleasure in taking care of this new little family. I didn't want to do it because I HAD to but because I WANTED to. That meant I needed to do things I loved too. So I began to teach piano lessons. I did this for 8 years of our marriage, on and off. I enjoyed it. I felt responsible because I was juggling and I was contributing to the family.

As my cute little family started getting older I began doing more things for myself. I started Prioritzing my day, taking care of myself more, getting my hair done, nails, all the while helping Kyle run his businesses.

This latest adventure with Raindance has really made me think about my role and responsibility as a mother and a wife and partner in this world. When I bought Raindance in May of 2012 it was right before school was getting out for the kids. I knew this was going to be a long summer. I just finished a semester of school at SUU and I wondered how the kids would feel about mom really going back to work with no pay. But that summer has passed. And another summer has passed and it was January 2014 that I decided how I would prioritize my family. I do not want to let the responsibility be filled with guilt and we all know us mom's are the best at feeling guilty. But I wanted to know that I could be certain I gave 100% during the time I had at the business and I knew I was giving 100% to my family when I came home. I promised Kyle that no matter what I did during our marriage in the workforce I would never let it get in the way of raising our kids.

So this is what I do. I stop work at 2:30 everyday. I make sure that I am able to pick my kids up from school and I focus on there needs. They are my first responsibility and my first priority. Kylee has a tendency to want to go to lunch almost everyday during her lunch hour. I admit that we go to lunch together at least 2 to 3 times a week. I don't ever want to pass up the opportunity to be there for my kids. Sandy I take out of school every Monday at noon for violin lessons. I try to make it a priority to practice piano with them now and help with there homework. The kids know that I can't drive past the business if I see a dirty bay. But they help me. And Kyle does what he can to help when my 6 kids are taking me in 12 different directions.

This hasn't been my strength. But I know it is important. I have learned to stop and just hug my kids and talk at there level. Women will always struggle with this Priority thing because we  have so much responsibility that lies on your shoulders. But I believe you were created with the ability to prioritize and with the ability to recognize your needs. So when you feel discouraged and thinking WHERE do I start? Just think about how and who you want to think of you the most when we are gone. I realized that I don't ever want my children to feel that I wasn't there for them.