There was an interesting quote in Oprah’s April Magazine in an article by Lisa Wolfe that made me stop and think. “… we’re trying to teach our kids that time is not just a commodity to be spent but also a blessing to be enjoyed”.

How do you teach your children to stop and smell the roses?

Interesting concept no? I know that in our house this is an effort for me. In our extended family, success has been always measured by education, career accomplishment or achievements. But success and quality of life can’t be measured with the almighty dollar. Right? I mean the dollar HELPS me enjoy my free time more though so it’s a balance. (Maybe I should have called this blog BALANCE because it seems to be a reoccurring thread for me).

I have been trying to find more balance in my life and appreciate the “Simple Abundance” of my life. But I have found that I don’t enjoy life if I am not super organized and achieving things. Does this mean I need therapy? And am I going to infect my neurotic achievement compulsions on my children — God forbid? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I am one of those moms who has their kids scheduled for 5 activities each… but we do our fair share, I like to have my house fairly organized, I like marketing myside businessand I like to do things during the day. I do not like just sitting around the house.

I want my children to recognize the good feelings that come from just spending time with each other and recognize that they don’t have to fill up every moment with “stuff or activities” for it to be a good moment. I want them t o know that it’s just as important to define themselves not only by the experiences they have but also by the experiences they don’t have. And that those moments not spent doing X can be just as altering as the moments spent doing Y.

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