Frustrations: Part 1 - Time Management

Being a mother, as you always hear it, is a 24/7 job. There are no holidays nor sick leaves, no overtime pay, and definitely no way to resign from it. With this said, it is but normal for parents, mothers especially, to get frustrated. And whether we like it or not, when we're tired and frustrated, we tend to hurt our children through our words, our actions, and even our simple silence. Whether you're a working mom or a full-time mommy, at the end of the day, it seems that there is something lacking. Was there a client you weren't able to call? Was there a corner you forgot to clean? When, at long last, we have dinner with the family, we may find ourselves "wanting" that alone time which we only get to have when we're in the washroom - either to take a bath or to drop some bombs. Maybe because we're too exhausted from work. We've given all our energy doing all these things. And for whom?

I think that the number one cause of frustration to most moms, which I also base on my personal experience, is time constraint. Most of the time, we're so busy thinking of work, household chores, how to acquire more money to be able to provide for the family or to take the family out on a treat, business meetings here and there, lunch dates with peers, and the like that we tend to forget the very thing that matters most - our children. They are the reason why, in the first place, we have these goals and do the best we can to achieve them. However, if we just focus ourselves on the goals and forget why we do these and for whom we work hard for, then, whether we achieve our goals or not, we are, sadly, losers. So, what would be the best solution to this problem? Time Management.

If, as a business woman, we can organize our schedule and budget our time organizing and conducting trainings in the office, writing a probable time table for a specific project, then why not apply this at home? If, as a full time home maker, we have a regular routine and time for the household chores like cleaning the house in the morning or cooking dinner at 4 P.M., then why not include a specific time for our children? According to a well renowned book I've read, "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren (It's a very good book, and lets us know what our real purpose in this life is), children spell LOVE as T-I-M-E. I agree. And I think this applies not just to children but to each and every member of the family as well. How do we feel when our husbands get home and watch basketball instead of spending some time with us, wives, stroking our hair and asking us how our day was? How do we feel when our teenage kids get home from school and goes straight in the room to play DOTA or talk endlessly on the phone or spend the rest of their waking hours on Facebook playing Farm Ville?

Time is everything. And "timing" is everything. An hour after dinner is a good time to spend with the kids. It makes them feel loved when we give them our time and when we listen to their stories. It makes them know God more and accept God more through the love that we show, not just give, to our children. Our children feel important when they come to us and ask or say something, and, regardless of what we're doing, we look them in the eye and answer their queries or simply listen to what they have to say. Children are people too. And God loves children. So, all the more that they ought to feel loved because they ARE loved. And our undivided attention tells them so. It's not easy managing a hectic schedule, but it's also not impossible. Let's make our children feel loved by us and by God today.