I was a stay at home mom for almost 10 years. It seems completely unfathomable to me that I ever did that -- especially from where I stand now. But that decade was filled with all sorts of emotions, one of which was complete and utter exhaustion. The endless days with a schedule dictated by Disney Junior made me feel as though my life ran on replay.
I remember one day my three-year old the time, Landrie, was clamoring for my attention. There was this new, wrinkly baby sister who was ALWAYS around, and Landrie spent about 30 minutes coming up with "watch me!" antics to get my attention.
"Watch me, mom!" Stands on right foot.
"Now watch this!" Stands on left foot.
"Wait, watch this!" Makes silly face.
On and on the performance went, and my patience was growing thin. In an act of pure flesh, the 25th time Landrie said, "Watch this," I looked at her and replied very simply, "No Thank you." And then I went on about my day. (It's not a moment I'm proud of, folks...but desperate times calls for desperate measures.)
There are seasons and schedules when being interrupted feels like the 25th "watch me!" trick. I get it. Lord, help me I GET IT. But even when patience is thin and flesh is weak, the Love Rule for today is still a good idea:
Are you schedule-driven? Type A? Have you ever been accused of being inflexible? Do you value process over people? While most of us would never publicly admit it, some of us have an unhealthy obsession with our appointment books. One small off-schedule issue and we're melting on the floor. If we just described you, you more than anyone, needs a small lesson in being interruptable.
When we make time for interruptions, we open ourselves up to opportunities to connect with those around us -- people we would have missed by adhering to our schedule.
Simple interruptions might include: midnight snuggles from a child who can't sleep, an impromptu late night movie well past your bedtime, meeting co-wokers for happy hour, a last minute weekend getaway, cereal for dinner followed by family game night or saying yes a child who wants you to "watch me."
How interruptable are you? Don't forget that on the other side of that schedule, people are waiting to connect with you!
If you need a few pointers on becoming more interruptable...check out our accompanying video here and then join the discussion by answering the question below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1phHjhXPAM
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When is the last time something or someone interrupted you that resulted in a beautiful opportunity for connection?
4 COMMENTS
Eugenia Wang
10 years ago
Candi Kooken
10 years ago
Katie
10 years ago
Ada Velez
10 years ago