Hands Free Mama

I have really been struggling with so many things right now.   I know I do a lot and I know I am a good mom, but am I doing enough?  Sometimes I feel like I do a lot of things, but maybe not always the BEST things.  At stake conference this past weekend, our stake relief society president spoke for just a few minutes and in those few minutes, I was deeply touched.  She urged us young sisters to unplug, to be more in tune with our kids, to be present with them and really be there...because it goes way too fast.  Her words pierced my soul and the spirit bore witness to me that this is really an area that I need to work on.  I immediately decided I wanted and needed to make some changes.  The first thing I am going to do is to completely detach from my phone on Sundays.  There has been much talk about keeping the Sabbath Day holy and I think this is going to be a great step with that.  I want our Sundays to be family time and not me jumping up every time I hear the chime of an incoming text or email.  Then, I decided that I need to be more present when my kids are home.  As painful as it is to admit, my kids hate when I am on the phone and they have told me.  On several occasions, Morgan has said to me, "Why are you always on your phone?" Or, my kids ask me a question and I'm only half listening because my mind is on the text I am reading or responding to.  I  have decided that I don't want to miss the small moments anymore.  I want to enjoy them, to live a meaningful life with no regrets.  It's going to be hard, but I know that as I see the benefits, it will become that much easier.

After I posted my intentions on a recent Facebook post, a sweet mom friend from school brought me the book titled, "Hands Free Mama."  She said that when she saw my post, she knew that I needed to read this book.  She explained that she and a small group of her friends read and had a group study about it.  She said it was life changing and I can see why as I have started to read it.  This book truly is a guide to putting downtown phone, burning the to-do list and letting go of perfection to grasp what really matters.  I'm only a few chapters in, but I'm loving it and soon I will be living it. 

Goals for this week include detaching from my phone 100% on Sunday's, detaching from my phone after school until the kids go to bed, and also doing family scripture reading with a paper copy of scriptures to insure I am not distracted by the possibility of incoming texts, etc.