It’s been a long day. Gracie’s had a tummy ache since about 2:45AM and I’ve held her most of the day. She drank one cup of apple juice all day long. She was crying as I tucked her into bed tonight. I hope that this bug passes quickly.
The story is told of a man who was taken to the top of an 80 story building. There was another building of equal height across from it. Strategically placed between the two buildings was an I- beam. There was a huge wind storm and it was raining fiercely. The man was then offered ten dollars to walk the beam to the other building top. Naturally, he refused. The man was then offered a thousand dollars. Again, he refused. Fifty thousand dollars. No. A million dollars to walk the beam in the wind and the rain with no ropes or ties to secure him. Again, he refused. The man was adamant that he’d never risk his life to do something so insane with nothing to secure him to the beam. He was then told that he had one last chance to walk the beam. As he was ready to insist that NOTHING would change his mind, he looked out to the center of the beam and there was his young child, wavering on the beam from the other side, practically to the center. Without hesitation, the man raced to the center to save the life of his child. His perspective, his priorities were completely changed.
I get chills whenever I think of this story. The question that followed, "What would you walk the beam for?" Naturally, any mother would immediately respond, "My children". Most women would answer, "My husband or mate", but this story is much deeper than this. We walk this beam every day with each and every minute of our lives. Every decision, every activity, every moment that we spend is, literally, a step on that beam. It’s all about priorities. What we do with our time each day is where our priorities truly lie. We freely give our time and energy to the things that matter the most to us. I know that I can easily excuse myself out of the things that don’t appeal to me... the prize on the other side isn’t big enough. But, the more value I see in the prize on the other side, the easier it is for me to walk that beam.
As I held Gracie this afternoon, we rocked and we talked. I enjoyed the time spent together but must confess that I was looking at my scrapbook desk, thinking about the idle time, just passing me by. I thought about the laundry in the dryer... about the reading that I wanted to do... about the trip into the mall that I’d planned on making this afternoon. And then it hit me, this time was priceless. This time was not wasted at all. Gracie needed me.
After I tucked her into bed tonight, I unloaded and reloaded the dryer. While folding the clothes, I started thinking about my day, how much time I had spent just holding Gracie. I did read several blogs off and on throughout the day with her in my arms. I watched a little TV with her in my arms. I did manage to fit in a bath while she napped. No scrapping done. No shopping. Leftovers for dinner. Laundry still screaming my name.
"Dovetailing".... doing two things at once. An important factor in time management. Do the dishes while you talk on the phone. Chop the veggies while browning the meat. Set the table while the water boils. Dovetailing isn’t as easy when another person’s needs are involved, especially when person’s needs are your responsibility. Their happiness, comfort, security becomes the prize. Sometimes we have to just forget the blowing wind, the rain, the slippery steel and walk the beam.
Thank you... I really LOVED this post...
Glad I came and had a look before I go out the door to Leadership meeting :)
Have an awesome weekend
Posted by: Nora | November 07, 2009 at 08:52 AM