What Really Counts

Do clean floors really matter?  When I am fifty do I want to look back on my life to say "and I had a clean house?"  It was upon spending the morning playing games with my beautiful little girl that I realized - they really don't!   I am not suggesting that I suddenly replace cleanliness with puzzles and dress-up all the time.  Yet maybe, just maybe, I don't need to mop my kitchen floor on a daily basis.  Yes, perhaps I can turn a blind eye to that itty bitty dust bunny in the corner (that nobody really sees) and devote that time to the more important things in life - like an extra story read to Kate at bedtime. 

I've found myself in a struggle since returning to work.  I'm struggling to balance motherhood, career, fitness and all the other things that we adults have to do in life.  And I find myself reluctantly admitting that, perhaps, I need to lower the bar just a little.  In the big picture of life, one Monday morning spent making pancakes and reading a story versus going to the gym is not that big of a deal.  Really!  

So today, in this moment, I am taking a step back to remember what's really important in life.  The people I love, my family, my friends ... my daughter.  Life is too short to waste your time obsessing about that closet in disarray or that load of laundry that can really wait until tomorrow and yes, even that 26 inch waist (kissed that dream away long ago).  Instead spend it building relationships, living dreams .... creating memories.