Carpe Diem, a Latin Phrase meaning “seize the day”. My oldest son is 14 years old and just started high school. I remember the days of being a young mother with 3 babies at home and longing to simply carry on a conversation with my kids. Now that those days are here I find myself wondering where the days went. I catch myself thinking through a thousand thoughts as the kids try and tell me a story. I come home from work so mentally exhausted and bogged down that their voices tend to
be a noise in the background. My work days are long and mentally taxing, there are days where my only thought is “what are the must do’s in order to get to bed, everything else can wait.”

Don’t get me wrong, I love these days of middle and high school! My kids can read, I can hold a conversation with them, they make me laugh constantly, I’m not disciplining them every 5 minutes, and bedtime is obviously much easier. I love listening to the stories and jokes they share, although at this age with teenage boys the jokes are typically inappropriate. I love watching them grow and mature, exploring their independence. I love helping them work through their conflicts. I think at this age the most rewarding moments are when the one thing you’ve been drilling in their head for years finally clicks and kicks in. As a young mother, I remember people telling me “cherish them while they are young. It will be over before you know it.” As the words rolled off their tongues, I literally felt my eyes roll back in my head. In the grocery store I’d usually hear it more than once. By the time I was leaving I just knew if one more little old lady told me to enjoy the screaming tantrum throwing alien in front of me I was going to bulldoze her over with my grocery cart.

I WAS SO EXHAUSTED!

I had three kids in four years. In those first years of diapers, tantrums, and potty training, I was in survival mode! I do not remember eating a hot meal. My quads were in great shape because as soon as I sat down I’d be jumping back up to save a kid from the next disaster. My oldest son took a Sam’s Club bottle of mustard decorating the carpets of our rental home while I was nursing my youngest. There was even a day when I remember walking into the kitchen to find that the kid I had just put behind a baby gate was climbing on top of the fridge. There was never a dull moment!

Now in hindsight I have really come to realize that the annoying words of advice were oh so true. I mean high school, already, really?!?! I’m 4 years from my oldest graduating. I only have four more summers, four more guaranteed family vacations, four more years of sports. And if I am being honest with myself, it’s really two years.
As soon as that kid gets his license he’ll be out and about. My only hope is that he is currently a homebody. He enjoys his time at home to relax and does not like the busyness of events during the week. The last 14 years have gone by so fast. It makes me want to stop the hands of time. If only I had that power!

A few years back I came across “The Life Builder’s Creed” in my devotion.

Today. This moment. NOW. It is God’s gift to me. It is all that I have. Today is what God has entrusted to me. It is all that I have. I will do my best in it. I will demonstrate the best of me in it-my character, giftedness and abilities – to my family and friends, clients, and associates, I will identify those things that are most important to do today, and those things I will do until they are done. And when this day is done I will look back with satisfaction at that which I have accomplished. Then, and only then, will I plan my tomorrow, looking to improve upon today, with God’s help. – Dale Witherington

This is powerful. God has given me a precious gift. TIME. It is something we can never get back and his word commands us to use it wisely. Often I get so focused on the never-ending to-do list or annoyed with chores around the house not being done, that I catch myself annoyed more I am happy. I do not really relish in the time I have my kids. In the few hours we have together at night I find myself finishing up phone calls from my day at work. I walk in the door quizzing the kids on “is your homework done, lunch packed, chores done, uniforms clean for tomorrow, why is the kitchen a mess?” and I am realizing that even though those things do have be taken care that just stopping for a moment and talking with them about their day is invaluable time that I am loosing. I am learning that when I can
• stop and breathe
• ask the kids to put electronics down
• Put my phone down
• focus on them

I can gain invaluable time with them. Not to mention the insight of what is really going on in their life.

So my goal this new school year has been to really focus on my kids. As a owner of several businesses this does not necessarily mean I will get more time in my day with my kids. Everyday holds a new element of time spent. However, it means that if I choose to be intentional with the time I do have I will get more out of the time spent. And Maybe, by being intentional with my time, by seizing the day, it will ultimately create more time to remain focused on what is important. Follow me on this journey of life as I share with transparency the high’s and low’s of all things Mom related. Whether it is raising kids, starting and running a business, finding margin in the
demands of the day, or simply creating space for marriage and self care. My commitment to you, my readers and followers, is to share it all. By doing so I hope to help the career driven moms in this world move the needle from chaos and burnout to clarity, success, and rest.