Well, leave it to a movie to give me a whole new perspective on my life at this point. Today, as most days, was full of the routine of what we do. It's nothing special, but an aspect of my life that I'm sure that many of you can relate to. I get up every morning and start my life in the same way. However, when some little small thing happens to throw it just the least bit off I have this void it seems the entire day. Today was no different really . . . . other than the fact that McKendry decided she would cry out one hour before she normally gets up. No big deal, right? Well, it shouldn't be . . . . but for some reason for me, the "queen" of routine, it dishevels me for a bit. It's ironic though, if for some reason she wakes up an hour past the time she normally does it doesn't put me in the same state. I will admit though, I'm so anal (can I use that word on a blog? Well, I just did, sorry MOM!) about the routine of things that I usually will get her up so as to not to throw the rest of the "schedule" for the day off even more. Some may be reading and thinking - what a way to live, why would you do that to yourself? It all started when we had our first child. I was a person who LOVED my sleep and when left without my 8 required hours I didn't function so well. It just sends my internal clock for a loop. So, needless to say when we started discussing children I KNEW that it was going to be a huge adjustment on my sleeping habits. At that point I began a mission of research on the "perfect" way to get your child on a sleep schedule and what routines were best on your baby.
My mission worked, BOTH of my children were sleeping through the night entirely at 6 - 8 weeks. I was a VERY happy mommy and a much better mommy because of the sleep. With this routine has come MUCH ridicule from many family and friends. At first it bothered me. Now, almost 5 years, I have NOT A CARE of what they think. I am a better parent because of this routine. My children know what to expect from day to day and HONESTLY when something varies from routine they handle it soooooo well.
This routine, as my mom will tell you, didn't surprise so many that know me. I've ALWAYS been a VERY predictable person. I'm not one for change and the routine of my life doesn't bore me at all as it would some. With my hang up of staying on schedule, be that as it may, I find myself rushing through life. I'm always trying to get the kids to get dressed within a certain period of time, eat supper within a certain period of time, get their teeth brushed quickly, take your bath now, get your toys picked up now . . . . . it just seems like we HURRY through life. So today, as I was watching "Cars" with the children it hit me in the face to SLOW down. It seems that our society is always trying to come up with a faster way to do EVERYTHING. I DON'T want my children rushing through life only to wonder what their purpose ever really was. I have probably watched "Cars" a hundred times with my children and never has it made that much sense to me. I've always thought it was a cute movie that taught a really good lesson about a car that is young and energetic that doesn't really "get it". He had been going through life only wanting one thing . . . . to be the best and along the way he realized the true meaning of life. Today, as we were watching I wasn't really watching the movie. I had fifteen other things going on, but for some reason today I stopped to listen during one particular scene. It's when Sally takes Lightning McQueen throughout the town and the country side to get him to slow down. He finally was able to see the beauty and to understand that Radiator Springs wasn't just a snooze fest but a place that people once loved. I guess what made the biggest impact is when she said to him "the town got bypassed just to save 10 minutes of driving". I had seen that a hundred times, but today in the midst of my routine it shook me a bit. How many times a day do I find myself doing things like that? Rushing my children along or even killing myself to get something done just for nothing really.
Don't misunderstand me . . . . . We enjoy life but aren't we all to busy at times? Life is so short . . . I want to cherish each moment that I can and savor this life while I can. I PRAY that I don't make my children feel like they have to rush through life. Our society puts so much emphasis on "taking shortcuts", we work so hard taking out steps that we forget what it once was like.
So, I'm going to take a deep breath and just enjoy this life I've been given.
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