"I once heard someone compare the way we manage our lives to spinning plates. I can relate to that. A man gets plates spinning, one at a time, atop thin poles, until he has multiple plates spinning and must run from plate to plate to keep each one going before the momentum slows and each plate falls, shattering to the ground. After hearing this analogy, I took a good look at my priorities. I chose several plates I thought were worth spinning and tended to them carefully...I thought, "Everything I do directly affects my children! What could I possibly let go of that wouldn't affect my children?" I started to panic. I looked again at my priorities, but I couldn't let anything go...not yet. So I kept spinning those plates, secretly believing I could keep them all going.
The plates began to slow. My husband brought home dinner and searched for clean socks. My nine year old daughter wondered if I'd ever be able to hug her with both arms again or if I'd always be holding a baby. (My) six year old showed signs of insecurity, including compulsive hand washing and a heart breaking fear of germs...School started. We forgot homework and show-and-tell. I didn't volunteer. The house was a mess. I braced myself and waited for the plates to shatter all around me.
Then I discovered a secret. Most of the plates I kept spinning were paper plates. When I stopped tending to them, they slowed and stopped spinning. They fell to the ground, but quietly and almost uneventfully. And I realized they would wait there until I could pick them up and get them spinning again.
The panic subsided, and I looked to the plates that were still spinning, and they were precious. They represented each of my family members. Now, self-assured, I could assure each family member that I would not let them fall." -- Marcie Richards
My friend Nichole also stated it perfectly in her no-nonsense way. While I was lamenting that I didn't even send out Christmas cards this past year, she replied, "You know nobody else cares, right?" And she's right.
Some plates have definitely started falling here in the wake of this new calling at church. But it's okay - they are just paper plates, and I can pick them up and get them spinning again later. In the meantime, Rachel and I painted fingernails, I bought Lucky Charms for breakfast (thus making me the coolest mom EVER for one morning), I took the kids to the zoo with friends, played lots of uno with caleb, held my baby while she napped through church, and helped ella deliver a sweet card she made for the neighbor. The most important plates are still spinning, and getting the attention they deserve.
"[Our children] don't see our cellulite, our deflated bank accounts, our cluttered closets, let alone our undeserved self-loathing. All they see is their mother; the woman who takes care of them, feeds them, hugs them, listens to them, loves them. When you inevitably feel unqualified for the task at hand (and we've all been there) remind yourself that motherhood is ultimately about your children, and they think you are wonderful!" -- Allyson Reynolds
And if you are reading this, you are either family or close friend, and I think YOU are wonderful! I am full of gratitude this week.
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