Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem! Seize the day! This famous saying can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. To most stay at home moms, this may mean getting as many chores done as possible while the kids are at school and the spouse is at work. To my two sons, this phrase most of the time means, "Let's see how many levels I can gain before Mom realizes I am playing this game instead of cleaning my room like she asked!".

To me, lately, Carpe Diem has been two part.

The first part has been to really make sure that at least once a day, I stop yelling, stop nagging, and really tell those closest to me just how much I love them. I don't think I do that as often as I truly should. I tend to get too caught up in my daily to do list that I forget to realize that once today is gone, it's gone. It's not coming back. My kids get older each and everyday whether I like it or not and I really need to stop and take a moment to say "I love you" and "I appreciate you".

 I found a project on Pinterest (isn't that place just great?) where you take the entire month of February and each day you place a heart on your child's bedroom door with a reason why they are special to you. I began doing this yesterday (yes, I realize yesterday was already the 3rd. I played a little catch - up) and the impact has already been felt. My kids loved seeing what I had written on each of the doors. Fun things like "I love playing games with you!" and "You rock at playing the drums!". However, the ones that were most noticed were the things I assumed they knew but, really had no clue about.

My youngest son, Craig, has Aspergers (high functioning Autism). Due to this, he tends to get stuck on one topic for days, weeks, sometimes months at a time. I find myself a lot of time saying to him, "honey, i love you, but, can we PLEASE talk about something else!" For him, I made sure to put 'You know so many cool facts!" as one of his hearts because even though I might get tired of being on the same subject, I really do find it amazing how much he can learn at his young age of 9 on a topic he is truly passionate about.

Same thing for my oldest, Trenton. I spend so much time taking care of Craig that not a lot of time gets spent one on one with Trenton. I needed to make sure to let him know that he is still tied for Number One in my mind so I put "I love spending time with you!" on there so he would know I cherish our moments together just as much if not more than he does.

The second part of my Carpe Diem (or really my first part) is to spend more one on one time with God. Poor God. He loves me with all my flaws, gives me everything I have inside and out, yet is the first to pushed to the wayside when my day gets busy. It's like I'm saying "Sorry God, you're gonna have to wait, this laundry isn't going to wash itself!" (Boy, wouldn't that be awesome!)

For me, I have realized that I HAVE to make spending time studying the word and talking to God a priority. If I don't make this time important in my mind, it will never get done. But, here's the funny thing. Making sure that I get that time with God in each and everyday HELPS me get everything else done better. It's like an extra pep in my step. My daily study time can include anything from listening to a podcast, reading a devotional on my phone to just opening my bible and reading or writing down and reviewing favorite bible verses in my pocket verse keeper. It varies day to day depending on how I feel and what I have going on. Sometimes I have time to sit down and actually read the bible and other days, I am listening to it in my ears while I do my chores.

I joined a Home Team through my local church about 6 months ago and have really enjoyed the study and communication I have with this group. It really gives me some wonderful insight into all the bible has to offer. I have also started going to a weekly women's bible study which just reinforces my study that much more. I find myself yearning for those study times and adding in my own daily study time to enhance the knowledge I am gaining. It has been wonderful and really changing how my entire daily schedule works (mainly, because it is changing my attitude towards my daily schedule).

I encourage you to find your own way to Carpe Diem, whether it's taking time to tell loved ones how much they mean or just making time for your own personal growth.