Further Assurance

I saw this tonight and I find it as just further assurance that my family and my children need more from me than ever before.

 

Family

Well Hubby officially starts work today at his new job... an hour away from our home.

I saw this picture the other day and I found it very convicting and applicable to where I am standing looking at this upcoming year.

Hubby and I have already made the decision that I won't be teaching at our local college this fall, but we are making the hard decision for me to step back from my leadership role at church.  This is particularly difficult because I don't know who is going to step in to the role but both Hubby and I know that my family needs more from me this fall.

 

 

HTALL

  These days I am often reminding myself of HTALL -- Hubby, Tracey Ann, Lexie, Lloyd.

I am back to work and preparing for another year of teaching students across 150 miles here in the mountains.  Despite the work responsibilities of mine that come with the onset of the school year -- HTALL.  My PRIORITIES are Hubby, Tracey Ann, Lexie and Lloyd.

Yes, I intend to work hard as a teacher, just as I have every year, and I intend to work hard as a homemaker... but Hubby, Tracey Ann, Lexie, and Lloyd are my PRIORITIES over all else.

My lesson plans will get done... the laundry and the dishes will get done... but when Hubby, Tracey Ann, Lexie, or Lloyd need me this year, THEY have the trump card.  THEY are my family.  If they need me, they get me.

This has been on my heart this week as I've returned to work.  This week I've treasured my time with Tracey Ann, I've looked for additional ways to serve my husband as he's returned to work as well, and I've been very attentive to the needs Lexie and Lloyd are communicating.

About a week ago, I took a rare moment to put my feet up and rest for a few minutes while Tracey Ann was napping.  I hadn't been resting 5 minutes before Lexie came up and sprawled out on my lap purring.  Any guilt I felt about resting a few minutes was gone as I treasured this time to give Lexie some undivided attention (which doesn't happen as often as it used to).

Tracey Ann LOVES Lloyd and she and I give Lloyd attention throughout the day... but Lloyd still thrives on my undivided attention when Tracey Ann isn't in my arms.

I'm the MAMA of the household, and I LOVE it.  Someone always needs me and it is wonderful.  This is my life's dream coming true before my eyes -- my sometimes tired eyes.

I'm headed back to work, and I love my students.  I look forward to another year of teaching and learning with them, and I will commit myself to them as their teacher.

That being said, Hubby, Tracey Ann, Lexie, Lloyd are my family.  I'm about to embark on the balancing act of being a working mom -- but the scale doesn't balance.  HTALL is my priority, my calling, my loves, my life's work, my dream-come-true, and my family.

Priorities

 
Thus far nothing has snapped my priorities so quickly in line than the birth of my daughter.

Of course, the grown-up priorities you would expect came forward -- Hubby and I discuss the big issues of where we want to raise our family, how are we going to instill Godly, family-oriented, and patriotic values in our children, and more...

But what I didn't expect was how suddenly protective I would become of my time with my family -- both my time with Tracey Ann and my time with Hubby.

This past Sunday afternoon, there was quite the "To-Do" list on my plate... all the homemaking tasks I have let fall to my wonderful mother while she's visiting, and the work-related tasks that I would normally do on a Sunday afternoon to prepare for the week ahead.

With Tracey Ann asleep in her swing, Hubby and I just rested together.  We sat at each end of the couch, facing each other, with our feet up towards each other, and enjoyed an hour together.  We shared a blanket over our feet, and Hubby watched a playoff hockey game (** We NEVER watch hockey... in the nearly 3 years we've been married, and 4.5 years of knowing each other neither one of us as ever watched a pro hockey game on tv -- but St. Louis was playing, and Hubby wanted to cheer them on **) and I read a book.

It was such a wonderful time of just resting together as a family, recharging for the week ahead -- and believe me, we need all the charge we can get for these final weeks of the school year.

While I used to easily log 60 or more hours/week devoted to my job -- not because it is required, but in order to be excellent at my job.  Now, I still strive for excellence at my work... but in order to strive for excellence as a wife and mother, I have to be very protective about prioritizing time with my family.