Parenting Practices: Priorities

I have been out of my mind busy lately.  Between church, end of the school year activities, household life and college classes, I feel like I am floundering in all areas, most of the time.

This may be old news for some, new news for others, but here is an example of "floundering" in my life.  Last Thursday our family needed bread, I volunteered to make bread for snack at school, and I agreed to make blueberry cream cheese braided bread for an auction at church.  I decided to just dig in and do all three at once.

I went outside to open the chicken coop door and of course Noah came out with me.  I was anxious to get back into the bread, but Noah didn't want to come in yet.  I decided to let him stay out to avoid the fit I knew he would throw when I made him come in.  I added some ingredients and checked on Noah.  I brought food scraps out and checked on Noah.  I tied out a dog and checked on Noah.  I brought a dog in and checked on Noah.  By this time I had all two of the doughs rising and I was working on the third, the blueberry cream cheese braided bread.  It is a simple recipe but it does have lots of steps and I got sucked deep into it and didn't check on Noah.

Everything came to a halt when I heard the dog barking and looked out the window and saw a tractor trailer and a car stopped.  Time stopped.  Every fiber of my being cried out in fear.  I was so scared of what had happened that my teeth hurt.  I ran outside to see my friend Katie bringing Noah and his tricycle out of the road.  She handed me Noah, gave me a hug and said, "it's ok."  I started crying at this point and didn't stop for quite some time.  Even when I did stop, every time I would think of what might have been, I would lose it again.  I still feel it now as I write.

Katie had to go, but I spoke to her later and found out that Noah had crossed route 14 and was on his way back over when she saw him.  She also told me that the tractor trailer that was behind her had been pulled over on the side of the road just down the road.  Had he not pulled over, he would have reached Noah before Katie.  Most tractor trailer go about 60 to 65 mph and the visibility isn't great because of a curve in the road.  God must have been watching over my Noah because I wasn't.

I am still sick thinking that I allowed something that seemed so important at the time, to get in the way of one of the most important things in my life.  It has been a humbling week as I get my priorities straight.  One of my classmates said that he had studied hours every day for a quiz.  I studied maybe 20 minutes every other day.  When I first handed in my quiz I started to cry because I knew I had at least 3 questions wrong.  I have set my sights on perfection and I knew I wasn't making it and I knew I hadn't studied enough.  I got over it fast though.  I might have gotten an A- or maybe even a B, but my children are alive, clean, fed, educated and loved and I will take a F before I will let any of those things be compromised.