QUALITY vs QUANTITY

Operations.
Systems.

All businesses have them-well, all GOOD businesses have them.  It's how they run their ship.  It's policies and plans and strategies for how they function.

As I type this, I am looking around my house on this Saturday afternoon, clean laundry piled next to me on the couch, toys thrown, winter coats thrown over chairs, stacks of various school papers, mail, and books piled, and I, in my pajamas with my feet propped up here at 2:31pm.

Confession: We didn't get our Christmas tree taken down until mid January.

I am thinking that somewhere along this 10 year "nest building" journey, Adam and I have neglected to get some "systems" in place for running our family ship.

It often feels like chaos.

To look at us, it may appear we have some kind of routine, our clothes match, we are bathed, hair is combed and we are generally on time to things, but the truth is...LIFE is RUNNING US-instead of US RUNNING IT.

Our kids are 8, 5.5, and 2.5 years old.  Time is flying. 

In my last post, I talked about keeping "the end in mind," and focusing more on WHO our kids become than WHAT they become.

Lately, it has been on my heart to start being more intentional about the time we spend together. 

Life is crazy!  We are busy!  Some may believe that a family should spend as much time together as possible.  Some may believe that it is important to get their kids involved in everything possible, that their social calendars are what's most important.  I tend to fall somewhere in the middle.

The truth is, we could sit all day in this house together and never speak to each other, do anything together, or go anywhere.   I don't believe that good parenting comes from just being in the same room.  On the other hand, if we over involve our kids, we are so busy getting them to connect with others, that we don't connect with them.

It comes down to this: Quality vs Quantity.

Quantity is the amount of time.  Quality is what you do with the time.

In the end, it is the WHAT we did together that will matter, not the AMOUNT of time.

As parents we need to be intentional about CREATING A RHYTHM with our kids.  Traditions, moments, shared experiences that will last a lifetime.  I call those moments, "heart snapshots."  A moment in time that will be written on their hearts...forever.

How are we spending our time?  What are we showing our kids, by our day to day lives  is most important?  What are we missing out because we don't take the time to notice?

One day, they will be grown.  I do not want to look back on their childhood years and think "It's a good thing the house was clean...." or, "I am sure glad that they were involved in every sport offered."   Spend time with them. Make a mess.  Connect with them on their level. Get to know them. Encourage them. They will be little for a short time, you can clean your house later.

Create a Rhythm.

Orange Parents
Parenting Beyond Your Capacity