I had a revelation while listening to a Podcast by Allie Casazza about having a family mission statement. This is something that has been on the peripheral of some changes we have been making, but it made me truly focus on our values. We have not been living our life according to what we find important. Family is priority number one. We enjoy each other’s company and we enjoy doing activities together, but we have been spending far too much time on our phones, whether its online shopping, work, Facebook or YouTube. We curbed our tv habit, but our phones and the internet are so readily available that it is difficult to cut ties.

From the outside looking in, we appear to be picture perfect. We are by no means rich with money, but my husband has a well-paying job while I am a stay at home mother to our two beautiful children. We do our playdates and beach vacation. We have money in our rainy day fund and retirement accounts. We have a house and a mini van. So many people would be incredibly thankful to be in our position. If we’re living the dream why are we so beaten down?

Somewhere along the way we lost sight of the simple things, the things that make us happy. Now I know what you’re thinking….whiners! Gosh another set of millennials that don’t even know how good they have it. Let me be frank, we see this. We’ve been fighting against it for at least the last few years. Attempting to slow down. Enjoy popcorn and a movie with the kids. Take the dog for a walk. Go to the farmers market. Hike in our beautiful Appalachian Mountains. So, why can we not hold onto these moments? Why are we not happy?

Let’s start with my husband. He’s a hard worker. It’s a blessing and a curse. He’s always been the type to “plan for the future”. Well, the future is now. Right here. Our kids are literally changing before our eyes and he is constantly drawn into emails, texts, problems for customers at work. Stress that we aren’t saving enough. What is enough? When is it enough? It eats away at him. The guilt he feels has been brutal.

As for me, I am in the thick of it with the kids. All day, every day is diaper changes, potty breaks, snacks, meal times, can we play with this, now that, bath time, laundry, dishes, and so on. There are so many things to be done at any given time that it’s hard to stop and actually appreciate where I am, where the kids are in their journey. I’m too busy keeping up with the kids at the park to stop and see the smiles on their faces. I’m already thinking about what I’m going to make for lunch or how I’m going to get the toddler down for nap while keeping the 5 year old happy too. That’s not how I envisioned motherhood to be, but how do I change that? How do I stop and refocus and appreciate each part?

We both try to provide a wonderful life for our kids, but what exactly is a wonderful life? Shouldn’t we also get to enjoy that life? How do we do that? How do we make sure that we are showing our children the important things in life? The small moments of each day add up and before you know it huge chunks of time has slipped away. There are lots of questions in this post and zero answers yet. We are currently trying to define what we want for our family and how to live it each day. That’s our goal. I’ll have to keep you posted on the resolutions we make.

Family Goals