Instagram of the Day :: The Importance of Lifelines

Lately, I have been thinking about how to balance my work life (which is mostly done online) with my home life.  My daughter “gets” that daddy goes to work and doesn’t see him until he gets home at night but seems to get more upset if mom is working at home while she is here.  I do my best to try to balance my work and my time with her and some days work out better than others.  There is definitely some mommy guilt felt when I have a deadline to finish and she is wanting to play LEGO’s and I am trying to figure out how best to balance this time spent at the computer and time with her.

I came across a post that one of my favorite mom bloggers, Rachel of Hands Free Mama wrote about the importance of Lifelines.  Lifelines are those little things we do for others that we love to show how much they are appreciated and cared for.  Things like leaving a note on your husband’s pillow so when he comes home at night he sees that you were thinking of him.  Or notes in your child’s lunchbox to let them know you are thinking of them.  She wrote about how one dad wrote a note every day in his daughter’s lunch box.  One day he noticed that she was tearing up a napkin that he had written little notes on to her and thought she was upset with him.  Turns out, she was ripping the part that he wrote on to paste them to her notebook so as to keep them as keepsakes.  She was feeling anxious and worried about him since he was battling cancer and wanted to feel close to him.  It made me think about how these lifelines we put out are things that really can make a difference in a person’s day or even life.  The thank you, the I care about you, and I believe in you – are all things we should be saying to people in our lives as much as possible.

Last week, I found this note in my daughter’s backpack while taking out her homework folder.  She couldn’t realize how this one little picture with the words “I Love You Mom” helped ease some of the mom guilt of not doing enough and put a huge smile on my face.  Maybe I am doing enough – because really, I am doing the best I can – and that, I believe, is what it is all about – doing your best.

To read more about Rachel of Hands Free Mama Lifelines post go here.  Her post is just so beautiful and really makes you think about what matters most in your life.