Today was my day off. And believe me, I have a lot of things I needed and wanted to do. I always wish for my days off to be productive. But last night my mom was in the mood to chat. And we were talking and giggling til 2 am. Thus I felt tired and drained when I woke up this morning.
With that being said, nothing interesting happened to me til this afternoon. After lunch, I took a shower and read a few pages of my book. Then I got Patrick from school and went to the mall. Two dresses for me, two shirts and two shorts for Patrick after, we found out that there was a puppet show for kids at the mall. So awesome!!! You should have seen the smile on Patrick's face. He was having so much fun watching with the other kids, more so when he won the raffle. Therefore, I find this whole day priceless. I am so glad that we went to the mall and I am so glad that today was my day off.
With all these happening today, I read something that I could include in this post. It speaks about how some of us live our lives as if it's secret purpose is just to get everything done. No, it's not!!!
How many of you are like me who loves making and having a To Do List? I can't live without a pen and a paper. I always seem to have something to write down that way I won't forget. I would even brag in the morning that I've made a list of things to do to start my day right and at night when I have done most if not all in my list, I can call the day a productive one. But what this chapter made me realize is that this list sometimes consumes much more of our time and energy than it really deserves or needs.
We aim to empty out this "basket" thinking that it's a big accomplishment, that it's a must but really that is never going to be the case. There is always something more to do. All the items in our "basket" may be crossed off but it only gets replaced by new things that needs to be done. We obsess over the idea that all these things need to be get done right away to a point where in we sacrifice our health, our happiness and our love ones. At the end of the day, was it really that important or could it have waited?
I had a great conversation last night with someone who may have just turned into one of the greatest friend and mentor. She told me that I shouldn't sacrifice my time for my son for work. She told me that it's not worth it. Work is work and with or without me, things will happen, good or bad. I would have to try to let go of this notion that when I'm there at work, I have control on what's going to happen. It's probably one of the reasons why I choose to be at work a lot more than I should. She told me that if I have to go to a game or an awarding for my son, I should go for it because time goes by too fast. I could never go back to these special events in my son's life and what my son would remember is not what I've given him to reward him for something good that he has done but the number of times that I was actually there to share these moments with him.
I can't promise that I will stop having these To Do Lists. It really helps me to stay focused but what I have to remind myself is to set my priorities straight. Between my family and work, family should come first. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't give my all at work. I would still be focused and I will make sure that things that needs to be done will be done but I will never make my family feel that they have to wait til I actually have time for them because work has consumed the whole of me. I need to learn how to live my life and not let work have control over me.
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