Goals

I started this blog with the intention of documenting my attempt to become a better person.

Of all the roles I play in my life my role as mom is most important to me.  I am a stay at home mom and I try to not take that for granted.  I have 4 beautiful children ages 6, 4, 2, and 7 months. (Girl, Boy, Boy, Girl)  I love being a mom.  If I could be one thing in the world it would be a mom.  I don't think any position or job has more importance.  I take the role very seriously and it is much of why I am doing this blog.

Too often I end my day with feelings of regret.  I regret getting upset. I regret yelling at my child rather than taking the time to teach them.  I regret not taking enough time to just soak up the little moments that I am never going to get back and that I will too soon forget.

So today ( I can say today, even though it is 3 am and technically the middle of the night) I am going to resolve to improve myself as a mom.  I am going to make some goals and make a sincere effort to stick to them for the sake of my children.

GOAL #1

Unplug.

I am going to give my kids more attention than my electronics.  I think of how quickly I respond to the sound of my phone and I am ashamed when I think of the response time I give to my kids.  No more.  Today I vow that unless I am expecting a call of importance, my phone is going to be on silent.  I never want to prioritize a text or call over a moment with my kids.  I never want to cut off  my kids telling me a story or tucking them in to respond to something that is not urgent.  Nothing is more important to me than my kids and I need to start acting like it.

GOAL #2

Stop yelling.

I am a control freak.  I am probably borderline OCD as well.  I like things to be clean, and I like being on time and sticking to an agenda and schedule.  These are great attributes when applying for a job, unless that job is being a mom.  They are my biggest obstacles when it comes to being the kind of mom I want to be.  When will I learn that I can't force 4 little bodies to be clean, organized and timely?  Not to mention well mannered, selfless and faithful.  I yell a lot.  I get frustrated a lot.  I spank more often than I'd like to admit.  This needs to change, and now.  I have been inspired by this blog.  This woman has gone over a year without yelling at her kids.  WOW.  I can learn a lot from her.  So I'm going to try and stop yelling cold turkey.

GOAL #3

Slow down.

This is also something I resist due to my OCD tendencies.  I am a Type A, To Do list kinda girl.  If I haven't accomplished a significant amount each day I suffer from guilt when I go to sleep at night.  This  means I put incredible amounts of stress on myself and my poor kids by pushing us to perform tasks in an efficient and timely manner and those things are not meant to describe the actions of children.  I need to let go of my stop watch and let my kids do things at their own pace.  This is much easier said than done.  I want to stop rushing them.  I want to make every effort to minimize urgency whenever possible so we all have less stress and more happy moments during the day.  This was inspired by this blog post from Hands Free Mama.  How long can I go without saying "Hurry up!"

3 simple goals.  Not easy, just simple.  If I can do these 3 things I am certain I will be happier, my kids will be happier and I will be one step closer to being a the person I want to be.