Family Time

The other day I was feeling a little blah. Life seemed rather plain and it was kind of bothering me. So I sat down and thought about what happens in my life on a regular day. I was able to break up my day into ten areas. It goes as follows:

I don't know about anybody else but that doesn't exactly sound like a fun filled day. Going to work seemed like a major drag. I would come home and then my focus would shift to getting my kids into bed so that I could relax. If I didn't get them to bed by the time I wanted then I would get upset and feel as though my whole evening was ruined. Well the other day I was once again reminded that I was being selfish and only thinking about my own needs but mostly my wants. We were having family home evening and the lesson was on baby Moses. After teaching the kids about it we decided we were going to act it out. The parts were assigned as follows: My wife was the Pharaoh's daughter, I was Moses' sister, my son was the Pharaoh, and my daughter was baby Moses. My daughter was sitting in the laundry basket with her blanket while she floated down the pretend river on our carpet. However this was a difficult journey for her because the Pharaoh (my son) was determined to follow through with his plan to kill all of the baby boys so he kept trying to attack her while in the laundry basket. While this ended up in pure chaos in was absolutely the most fun I had all day long.

Family time is so important so why do we often neglect it? I realized that I was coming home and viewing my family as another obstacle to overcome in order for me to relax. My selfishness was taking away time I needed to spend with my lovely wife and children. I would come home and focus on what I felt needed to be done and what I wanted to do. I wasn't being a bad husband or father but I wasn't being a good one either. Our families are here to enjoy life with and to make special memories. We can't get caught up in our mundane lives and forget what is really important. We need to take time for our children. It is ok to get on our hands and knees and give our kids horsey rides. It is ok to laugh and make some messes and clean up later. It is ok to turn off the television and get out a game or to just talk about our day. It is ok to just hang out at home with the family rather than stressing out over our to do list. The sooner we realize this lesson the sooner we will be able to enjoy our families. I was viewing my family as an obstacle when all along the only obstacle in my way was my own selfishness. Our families are wonderful and are full of amazing people if we decide to take some time to see it for ourselves.