Kevin and I went away to a marriage conference Friday evening and all day Saturday. Kevin's mom graciously stayed with the children.
It was a first. 19+ years of marriage, and we've never gone to a marriage seminar. It was good. I don't think there were any earth shattering revelations but the messages were good and thought provoking. As Kevin said, it was good just getting away and focusing on our marriage. We have a lot on our plate with Kevin's job and 9 kids to care for. Sometimes our marriage ends up on the back burner. Partly that is a busy life, but we have to WORK to keep our marriage strong. The natural tendency is to let the urgent overwhelm the important. We are fighting that by setting aside time for each other.
Not surprisingly, Mommy and Daddy's disappearance for more than 24 hours (we stayed in a hotel overnight) meant Rose was a little stressed when we got home. She had a fine time with Grandma and her older sibs, but she missed Mommy.
This week she and the next 2 kids have been clingier than usual. I've done a lot of sitting with them reading books and cuddling them.
This does not come very easily to me. I think most people who get PhD's are project oriented people. One has to either be a genius, or driven, to get a PhD. I am definitely not a genius so yeah, I'm project oriented. I love getting stuff done, getting projects finished. Cuddling little kids and reading books doesn't naturally appeal to my sense of "getting things done."
But really, being physically and emotionally available for my children (older and younger) is way more important than organizing our closets, even though the latter makes me feel accomplished. The house is kind of a mess right now and there are projects not getting done. Just like I have to focus on my marriage, I NEED to focus on my relationships with the children.
I feel like this is one of the things the Lord has taught me over and over in the last 20 years. Work on the relationships and don't worry so much about the projects.
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