Since selling our business in September 2008, some people think I’m retired, or semi-retired. While I’ve certainly gained more personal time and freedom, I’m not retired and don’t plan on retiring anytime soon — if ever.
In fact, in addition to doing my best to be a good mother to our three sons and a good wife, this past week I worked at least 40 hours a week, coaching clients, working on consulting projects and developing my new business.
Like most people — and other parents — it’s easy to come up with excuses for not having enough time for many important things, such as exercising, making time for relationships that are dear to us, and having fun.
Although I’ve always been pretty good at having fun, at times it takes effort even for me to do so. This past Sunday we went to church, and I had loads of laundry to catch up on and some consulting and coaching work to do. We helped our middle son on a big solar system project, bird-dogged homework, and so on. By 3:30 pm on Sunday, Jerry, I and our three sons had each/all had a very busy day. We were tired and feeling pretty lazy. It was tempting, and certainly justified, for us to just settle in, lounge, and call it a day.
At the same time, upon looking outside, I spied a cloudless, blue sky, a bright sun, mild (30-degree) temperatures, and sparkly white snow everywhere. We should go out and do something fun, I thought. But frankly, I wasn’t feeling particularly motivated to do so.
So I forced it. I “notified” the family to get their snow gear on, we were headed to Sinks Canyon for some sledding. Jerry, my wonderful husband, went along with it and helped me rally our sons and puppy for the sudden adventure.
It would have been easier to not do anything. It’s work to get out the door with kiddos and pets and winter clothing and sleds. But one of the things I want to help my life coaching clients do is to create more fun in their own lives. I need to practice what I preach, right? And I knew from past experience that we’re always better as a result of such adventures.
So, to see what happened next, watch the following video. And to think we almost missed out on this! The moral of the story is to create fun. Don’t think about it, just do it. It can happen in five minutes time and doesn’t have to be an elaborate, or outdoor adventure. It just has to cause smiles and/or laughter, even if for a very brief time.
Of course, the house is a mess. But that’s okay. (Just please don’t stop by unannounced!) I have a feeling I won’t regret that I didn’t keep a super neat and tidy house. I would, however, regret it if I didn’t take time to create fun with my family.
