Living Life Intentionally
Years ago, like 28 years ago, my days were a blur filled with diaper changes, small faces to feed, naps, interrupted sleep and all the nuances that accompany children 6 and under. And when my eldest was 6, there were 3 more…4, 2 and a newborn.
I distinctly remember one day stopping long enough to catch my breath (I must have gotten some sleep the night before in order to have this cognitive break through!) and realizing though the days were often long, they were moving by quickly.
I am naturally and find great joy in being a list maker! I love lists and yes, have been known to have lists of lists. I love to set goals and to write out the steps to achieve those goals.
However, when it came to parenting, I wasn’t setting any goals other than to keep the small children alive!
In a rare quiet moment, I sat down to the table, paper and pencil in hand and wondered what goals I should have for my children?
Physical? Mental? Emotional? Spiritual?
Physically I wanted my kids to learn how to swim, ride a bike, and hike the trails of Mount Rainier.
And I went through the other categories writing down age-appropriate goals for each child.
I bought large pieces of poster board, one for each child. I wrote their name at the top and listed the categories. Under each category, I wrote down the goals I had for each one.
These poster board goals helped to create my agenda for each day at home. In order to be a good hiker, they needed to be physically fit. Every day we went to the park across the street from our home. We played running games, stopped to observe ants and any other living creature we could find. We watched DVDs (yes, that’s how long ago it was!)about nature and wild creatures. I began to accumulate the hiking gear necessary for small children and purchased a local book on hikes for children. I also asked my good friend if she and her children wanted to join us for our hiking days because it was more fun to have friends along with us!
After each hike, I would write the date and name of the hike on my children’s goal charts.
I did the same for all the goals on each child’s chart. I wanted to be able to see the progress they were making and you know what? They wanted to see it too! So proud to show their daddy when a new check mark and date was placed on their chart.
This activity didn’t make the days slow down at all but the blur wasn’t as intense. I could visually see the intent in each year of their young lives and the intentional nuances of each day.
I was learning to live life intentionally with my children.
It’s a good practice, actually a great practice when I remember to put forth the initial effort.
So here I am today, sitting at my desk, pondering the next goals for 2022. Two immediately come to mind:
1. I want to help other women achieve their homestead business dreams
2. I want to make enough money to pay my bills, save some and travel to see my kids and grandkids and visit other homesteads.
What about you? Do you have specific goals for 2022? Have you been living intentionally or allowing life to dictate your journey.
Would love to hear your thoughts on this topic of intentionality and how you make it work for you!