Our Family

Our Family

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

How Do They Do It!

In talking to a fellow friend blogger - who has surpassed even my most lofty goals of being a great design blogger in a mere 3 months vs. my 3 years of blogging about just the days in my life.  I learned in five minutes from her what I couldn't figure out on my own pertaining to the labels on my blog.  Now I just need to go back through 3 years = 75+ posts and correct what I did wrong.

I am amazed at how much so many other people accomplish in their life.  How do they do it?!  How do so many seem to fit a whole other life within a life.  They have amazing blogs with amazing ideas.  There are others that are continually creating and accomplishing a new project every day.  They design things, sell them, blog about them.  Then there are those that have a job, young children, big life challenges, go back to school, know the latest world news, and more.  Do they have the same 24hr day that I do?!

And me . . .I get up, make my bed, pick up the house, do laundry, take care of my church responsibilities, try to stay in touch with family & friends on a limited basis, update my blog now & then and my days are gone without having accomplished any of these great things that so many others seem to. 

My single greatest accomplishments in a days time are that my bed does get made every day, there's rarely more than a load of laundry in the hampers at a time and we sit down together as a family almost every night for dinner.  Not that it's a great dinner by any stretch of the imagination.  Just another thing I only do marginally well.  Grateful that my family (particularly my husband) loves me anyway and tolerates having tacos once a week!

I am thankful that so many others do all that they do.  Because in reality, if not, I wouldn't be able to seem to do a few great things.  I wouldn't have their ideas for my Young Women's lesson or the joint activity I'm in charge of tonight and be able to tweek and make it my own.  I'm a good copier just not a good inventor of original ideas.

I aspire to greatness but I have yet to discover it.  To find where it lies in me. 

I'm a lover of simple things - reading, family, friends, the greatness in others, children's books, poetry, diet coke, boston baked beans, Panera Bread's cinnamon crunch bagels w/honey walnut cream cheese,  carrot cake, key lime pie ice cream and the likes.

In years to come when someone asks my children what would define their mother, I really wonder what they will say.  I hope they will say that they always knew I loved them, wanted the best for them and just as the warriors of Helaman, they knew & never doubted that their mother had a testimony of Jesus Christ.  In reality, the only success I am seeking is yet to be determined in the years to come as my children grow, learn and begin lives of their own.  The manner of men (and woman) they become will be the measuring stick of my life's accomplishments, my greatest reward.

I am not fishing or requesting comments, compliments or validation. I am merely voicing the musings of my mind at the moment.

6 comments:

Diana Smith said...

Melanie, you have such a great blog! I LOVE reading it! You and your family are sooo cute and you always have cute little things to say!!

Steve and Donna said...

I'm right there with ya- so don't worry. We can observe others- smile and wonder and think could I do that? But then I think being a stay at home mom is a great accomplishment and if I catch some news,read a good book or get out of my usual routine I'm still ok!

Joe and Emily said...

For me, if you are happy (and I hope you are because you deserve to be) and your husband is happy and your kids are happy, nothing else really matters. And I mean the true, deep down happy. The "I know I'm not perfect, but I try my best and I feel the love the of the Lord in my life because of it" happy.

It doesn't matter if you have a lucrative side business or complete I-made-this-up-myself crafts every day or invent something or have degrees hanging on your wall or become a public figure in your community. These are all nice, but the important thing is whether you are truly happy.

Now some people feel like something is missing or that life is not fulfilled if they don't have one or more of these other things. To those people I say, do what you need to do to feel fulfillment in life, as long as it doesn't come at the expense of your personal righteousness or your relationship with your family.

But to be content with keeping kids fed and the laundry contained and the house clean and the bills paid and church callings fulfilled all while eating a Panera bagel, I say well done!

Jenn said...

I completely agree, but am slowly coming to realize it's those "little" things that end up mattering the most! Hold your hear high...at least your bed is made every day! :)

Jenn said...

*head

Laine said...

loved this post, Melanie. you are doing the most important things. :)