Priorities

Some days I struggle. There are so many THINGS to do in my house. How do I prioritize? How do I accomplish everything and stay sane. At what point do I let things slide? What do I let slide?
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Honestly, many things slide. Some days I forget to sign papers for teachers. Some days I ignore that homework sheet. Sometimes I let Larissa's hair go for an extra week when it probably should have been re braided. I forget appointment, forget to make appointments. Cancel appointments (oh, need to cancel tomorrows WIC appointment because visitation got changed to tomorrow).
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Today I decided it was time to clean off my desk. Actually, you probably wouldn't notice a change but I do. While clearing (tossing) the stacks of junk mail, school fliers and such I came across Larissa's book.
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She received a copy of The Gingerbread Man from her teacher for Christmas. She put it on my desk for me to read it to her and it got lost in a mass of papers.
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While I was in the middle of cleaning my desk Larissa saw her book. She asked for me to read it to her. My first reaction was to say that I was busy right now, I almost did. Something made me decide to stop and read her the book.
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I was reading and doing a good job not taking any shortcuts when suddenly Larissa stood up and put her hands on her hips. She recited the next section, "Run! Run! Fast as you can! You can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread Man!". Obviously she knew the story well. We had great fun reading the story.
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It made me realize that she now has a life outside of home that I don't really know. She can sing songs I've never heard and has experiences that I don't know about. She can recite parts of The Gingerbread Man and I didn't even know she knew the story. My baby is growing up...next she will be asking for the keys to the car.
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So, my desk didn't get completely cleaned today. I got sidetracked once again by life. Today my child needs me, she wants me. Every day she needs me just a little less. One day she won't want me to read her stories anymore.
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Does it really hurt if those appointments don't get made in a timely manner? Does that dust really hurt anything? Do all those socks really need to be matched?
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Some days I get sidetracked. I get bogged down in the business of life. Sometimes I just need to stop and really look at those around me. Stop and give 100% of my attention to my children, to my husband, to the people around me....even sometimes to myself. Sometimes we moms forget ourselves.
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So, I guess that is something to work on this year......get my priorities in the right order. I am sure that I will have many lapses.