Life is busy and crazy and very complicated most days. Which is why I am thankful when my children remind me on a fairly regular basis of what is really and truly important. The memos that haven’t been sent yet and the patient charts that I need to finish just don’t matter, in the big scheme of things. Without them, life will still go on.And yet, something as simple as a chocolate cookie — that can mean more than anything else sometimes.
At work today, the office was crazy. We were short a nurse, and the phones rang off the hook. I continually felt about 10 steps behind, and I know my coworkers did, as well.
On the home front, my daughter Hannah missed school today because of strep throat. She was achy and feverish and completely miserable. Fortunately, today was my husband’s day off, so he was with her while I worked. Yet, being a mom, I couldn’t stop thinking about my sick child. I called her several times between patients. During one of our conversations, she mentioned going to Hebrew School in the afternoon.
“Honey, you’re not going to Hebrew School!” I told her gently. “You’re sick, remember?”
“But mom,” she began with a hint of tears in her voice. “Today’s the day we’re supposed to eat the Israeli cookies we made last week!”
“But, you’re sick.” I reminded her again.
“But, the cookies…,” her voice was so sad.
I promised to email the Hebrew School director and get the recipe so we could make the cookies at home. I think Hannah felt better just hearing I cared.
In 20 years, when Hannah is a grown woman, she’s not going to care whether our house was clean or whether I finished all my charts at the office. She is, however, going to remember very clearly each and every time that I tried my best to be a good mother and each and every time that I failed.
Of course, all of us will fail at least a few times, at whatever it is we do in life. Be it motherhood, daughterhood, or whatever else we try to accomplish, we’re never going to get it right all of the time. Yet, we need to do our best to show the important people in our lives how much they mean to us. Whether it’s by baking Israeli cookies or just hanging out together on the couch, those special times will stick with our loved ones forever.
Tags: A Piece of the Pie, Hebrew School, cookies, Hannah
Thus, when I’m tired and frustrated and feeling overwhelmed, I go to my kids for a reality check. They know what’s important in life. And it’s certainly not work. It is, instead, love and laughter and friendship and time with the people they care about most.
So, I try to spend a lot of quality time with my family doing what ever it is that we feel like doing together at that particular moment.
And those are the times that truly give my life meaning………
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