In an effort to spend more quality time together my oldest two curlies, Shia and Mimi, came up with “TK Time”. Which stands for Tafoya Kid Time. One of them will yell out, “TK Time!” and they will all gather in a circle, with baby curlie in tow, they begin with asking each other, how their day is going, then they plan out their day, possibly play a game, and end with prayer. It is so simple, and takes just 10 -15 minutes, then they are off bonding, playing and having a good time.
I was so touched by their sweet bond with one another, and proud at the initiative my oldest girls took to keep the siblings on one accord. Something as simple as taking a quick break from their day, and checking in with one another, makes a huge impact on the entire family.
It is amazing how the Lord uses our children to teach us the most simple, yet fundamental, lessons. He also reminds me how I should not only take time out of my day to check in with my curlies, but also with my hubby and even more so with Him, my Lord.
So much wisdom in such little hearts and I can foresee beautiful and amazing things in their future.
In today’s world, life is more about the hustle and bustle and we often get lost in it. We forget to set aside the time for what is most important. I believe it is time that we all slowed down, stopped and gazed at all that God has created and take those moments to thank Him in praise for it all.
Just a little while ago we were driving in the car on our way to church and I looked out my window and said to my husband, “Wow! Babe look at that mountain, it is so beautiful. I have never noticed it”
He looked at me with amusement and said, “I don’t know how you could’ve missed it, it’s huge. We’ve been driving this same route for years.”
You see, it wasn’t that I had never noticed it, I’m sure I had looked at it before, but never thought any more about it because I was so caught in the craziness of everything around me. I simply could not see what was right in front of me. When on that route I am always thinking “Gotta get to church! Hurry up car why are you driving so slow?” Its always hurry, hurry, hurry, and my patience is little to none. I am a product of the instant gratification we all live in today, and that’s the “gotta have it now; slow is bad; and the faster the better” mentality. We get frustrated when our food takes longer than 15-20 minutes to come to us at restaurants and yet complain when the flavor is bad or burned. We call our internet companies and complain about the speed as soon as our web pages take a second longer to load than usual. Or we rush through our quality time with our families, and cheapen the moments by focusing more on taking the “perfect picture” to capture that moment, and we miss out on enjoying the moment altogether. We have to share everything we are doing on social media, almost as it is occurring, and then we are off into our little zoned-out bubbles and not really present with our loved ones. We are raising a generation of children who will have no patience, will not know the value of hard work or meeting a goal, and it’s because they expect instant results. They will live a life indoors on some electronic device, and very little time in real connection with people face to face, all because of the instant interaction on the Internet. All of that carries on into our everyday life, and soon we are like zombies and do not notice the huge mountain right in front of us. If we are not careful we will crash into that mountain and receive a phone call for a loved one we have put off calling for months, has passed away. Or a friend that we keep blowing off is now terminally ill. Or our marriage starts to fall apart and we cannot quite pin point why. The mountain was always there, we just never cared to look up from our rushed, zoned-out lives to notice what’s right in front of us. So lets pick up the phone and call our loved ones to just tell them we love them and check in with them for the week. Take a moment to bond with your spouse for a few short minutes. Oh, the impact that can have on a marriage if we all just took a little “TK Time” to check in and see how their day is going, pray together, dream and love on one another.
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. ” Psalms 90:12
So today I challenge you all to take a little TK Time with our Lord, your loved ones, and for yourself. You will not be sorry you did, and I’m willing to bet, if we all did this intentionally and consistently, we will all have stronger relationships with those in our lives and will have more memories to cherish with them, instead of regrets. We will become more intentional people with our relationships and our hearts will come back to what is most important.
Until next time
XOXO,
Tany
the MODEST•MODERN•MOM 