family

This last Monday, Penina had the day off school, and I strategically set up a playdate for her during Yael’s nap so that I could get some work done. Normally, I wouldn’t necessarily do this, but my babysitter was off most of last week, and I had stuff on my list to do.

As soon as I got Yael to sleep, I went to the computer to get through some emails.

About 5 minutes into it, Penina and her friend came downstairs, all dressed up — they wanted me to watch their play.

My first thought was "I don’t have time for this!"
My second thought was self-judgment that I would even think my first thought, because my kids are more important than anything to me.
My third thought was to chill out on myself.
I went upstairs.

While I was waiting for them to start, my mind was on the email I had left unwritten.

I didn’t even sit down, because I was thinking I’d watch them for a minute or two and then be able to get back to work.

They were dilly-dallying getting started, and I noticed some inner tension, because I wanted to send that email and write a newsletter article before Yael woke up.

And then Penina came "on the stage" and started singing. And as she sang, she looked at me to make sure I was listening closely. So I sat down.

And I decided to forget about the email and be fully present to my daughter and her friend. I started swaying to their singing and allowed myself to get fully caught up in the moment.

I pretty much ended up hanging out with them through Yael’s nap, deciding that this week’s newsletter could be a re-print of an older one I wrote, and that nothing would fall apart if emails went out a day later.

(This week’s newsletter article would have been a re-print, but I posted this originally on Facebook, and then I realized it was the newsletter article that I hadn’t written!)

I am clear on my priorities in my heart and soul, and most of the time in how I act. But I have to admit that every now and again my actions betray me. Sometimes I get caught between home and business. Or forget that one of the reasons I chose to be an entrepreneur in the first place was because I wanted more FREEDOM in my life to do what I want to do.

Today was a powerful reminder for me on how important it is to be vigilante when I slip into "work, work, work" — to realize it as quickly as possible and move out of it, so that I can have the life I want and a business that supports it.

Whether you have kids or not, living and being present to your LIFE is crucial. If you’re part of my community, you’re like me, and I know that while your business is important to you, it can’t be the end all, be all.

Where can you pay more attention to your life, starting TODAY?

What are the “little things” you do for your business that actually are big things and take you away from your life and freedom?

With love,
Joanna