Priorities.

When I was a little girl, hell even when I was in high school I had very few cares in the world. Then in 2005 I became a mom and everything changed. All of a sudden I was responsible for someone else, for their well being, their life, and that is a lot for a person to take on. It was then that I had to get my priorities straight. My son became # 1 in my world, everything I did, every choice I made affected him. Now, almost 6 years later, I have two kids and my priorities have never changed. I constantly worry about them and wonder if I am doing a good job. Raising kids in 2011 is completely different than it was when I was a child. In today's world there are bullies, a much higher crime rate, illness that have just developed and spread like wildfire, so much negative media, the list goes on and on. Scares me to death to be honest. But nonetheless, my kids are still and will always be #1.

Unfortunally, when people become a parent the word priority means pretty much nothing to them. Yes, they love their child(ren), and they would do anything for them, but they don't always put them first. And it is where I think a lot of people need some clarification, because this area of life seems to be a bit blurry for most. There is a HUGE difference in SAYING that your child(ren) are your number one priority and actually PUTTING your child(ren) as your number one priority. The sad thing to realize here is that some people, not all, not even most, but some people will spend their entire life never really getting their priorities straight. For some reason that I think is beyond anyone's control, these people never understand that the nights out, the material things, the drinks, none of those things will ever look at you or see you as the person you really are.

Every game you go, every dance recital, or spelling bee or karate match, the fact that you decided to bring them along for once, or that you decided they could get a new bike and not have to hear you complain about not having the money, all of that, that is what your children want to remember. The empty seat/bleacher, the disappointment, passing up the chance to ride bikes with friends because theirs is broken again, those are the things children should never get the chance to remember. To be clear, putting your children as your number priority does not mean that you should shower them with material things, because kids change their minds a lot, they outgrow things, and stuff breaks, but seeing you sitting there cheering them on, that will never fade, break or be outgrown.

This all goes to say that this mama wouldn't mind a break every now and then. I will always put my kids first, and can never imagine a day without them. However, taking the chance to soak in a bubble bath or not listen to SpongeBob would be kind of nice every now and then. If you read this post carefully, and made sure to read between the lines you might have figured out where my priorities are, so where are yours?