picking priorities

I've been gone for nearly a week. It has definitely been a whirlwind of catching up since I got back home Monday afternoon. It's been 36 hours and I'm still behind, but less behind than I was! I've unpacked one of my bags, so that's progress, right?

Today was a beautiful day and the kids I got it in our heads that we needed to do some gardening. We're working on having a successful veggie/fruit garden, (it's something on my 40 before 40 list) but our thumbs are a very light shade of green in that department. I figure the more we plant and the more we try, eventually we'll have some success somewhere! The scrub jays finally shared some of our blueberries with us last year, so that was nice. (And it counts as school for us - you shoulda seen Lincoln's face when the concept of cross-pollination clicked for him. I used words like "powder" and "bees" and "flowers" and lots of hand motions and he totally got it!) 

So I ran around all morning with school stuff and drawing classes and getting gardening supplies and finally we get to a point where we can head outside for a bit. I have about 2 hours at this point before before my first piano student arrives. I make a pit stop in the downstairs bathroom and notice just how dirty that room has gotten. Apparently, one of my kiddos decided to put blue chalk in her brother's hair so the toilet is covered in blue powder and then the boy took a shower so there are blue drops on the rug and floor. Every time the kids come in to wash their dirty, muddy, grimy hands, they do it in that bathroom. Someone keeps insisting on kissing the mirror on the shower door with greasy lips. The towels are a mess. The toilet is just ew. The sink is the wrong color because of the dirt. And I thought,  "You know, I really should clean this before any piano students show up!" 

After a 30 second battle with myself, I decided to leave the bathroom as it was and go work in the yard with my two eager gardeners. 

I HATE that my bathroom is a mess. But I HATE it even more when I choose my to-do list over my children. There are times when it is necessary: we have to have dinner and clean clothes. I have to get those things completed for the sake of the family. But there are other chores that sometimes need to be put on the back burner because these kids and my time with them is SO much more important than a clean bathroom. 

And I'm so glad I chose to do that today. For those of you who follow me on Instagram (@katcragin), or are friends with me on Facebook, you'll see that I discovered that this whole gardening thing is something my son is very passionate about. That is so cool to see: the heart that a child has for something they are passionate about. 

So today we planted more blueberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, garlic, a variety of flower seeds, carrots, potatoes, cleaned up the strawberry plants, and chopped up some fresh chive. That all sounds very exciting, I know, but I'll be happy if we can just get a few more blueberries and maybe a few potatoes! 

So to my piano students: I'm sorry the bathroom is a mess. Someday it'll be clean, but today is not that day. 

KC