These last two months at home have been such a good reminder for me that family is so important, and I need to constantly work on my relationships with each of my kids and my husband. I can’t imagine how horrible it would be right now to be quarantined with people I can’t stand.
The sad thing is, we’re often hardest on those closest to us, usually the people we call family. I know that I tend to be hard on my kids. Sometimes I get into a repeat cycle of noticing all the things they do wrong and forget to notice the good things. Then my kids do something that completely takes me by surprise. That happened to me this week.
Projects Outside
We needed to get cement work done on the sidewalk in front of our house. We had put it off for a while because we really didn’t want to mess with it, but we finally decided it was time to get the work done. So on Thursday, Matt’s brother, who works in construction, came over for the day to help us.
We spent Thursday morning tearing up the sidewalk, digging out dirt, putting in rocks, and eventually pouring cement. Because we were on a roll, we decided to tackle the other projects we had been putting off. So we also stained the back deck and began working on leveling the ground in our backyard so we can eventually get a pool. Cue my happy dance!
Endless Hours of Work
All that cumulated in hours of hard work digging and transporting wheelbarrows full of dirt, rock, and concrete. We pushed hard all day. I couldn’t believe how hard my kids worked. Every time I stopped and looked around, all four of them were working hard. We worked from eight in the morning to eight at night.
At one point, I was too tired and sore to keep working. I had almost finished the deck but just couldn’t do any more. There was one big patch left that needed to be done. I took a break and went inside to grab some water and sit down for a few minutes. Then I headed back outside to help. I couldn’t face the deck, so I went out front of the house to help with transporting wheelbarrows of dirt. When I came to the backyard again a little while later, I was completely shocked to see my two little girls had finished the deck by themselves! I couldn’t believe it!
Remembering What Matters Most
Sometimes I am so hard on my kids that I forget, they really are good kids. I am really blessed to be their mom. Are they perfect? No. Do they drive me crazy sometimes? Yes. Do they fight and bicker constantly? Yes. They’re not perfect, but neither am I.
Working together as a family reminded me again that when it comes down to it, family is what really matters. It’s family that you are going to come back to time and time again. We spend more time with our families than with anybody else in the world. It would make sense that we would invest more in those relationships than we do into any other relationship. Sadly, it’s usually just the opposite. We most often take out our frustration on those closest to us.
It takes sacrifice and an enormous amount of love and patience to continually be kind and loving to those who live with us. But when we do, the payoff is huge. What’s the payoff? Stability, security, a sense of belonging, love, peace, and a sense that everything is going to be okay. It’s everything we want our home to be filled with.
Hands-Free Mama
A great book that deals with this subject is Hands-Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford. I read it a few years ago. She teaches soul-to-soul connection with your children. It’s an inspiring and uplifting read that challenged me in this area of paying more attention to my children.
If you want more encouragement on this topic, read Finding the Good Happening in Front of Our Eyes.
