Distractions

I don't know how you feel about these people:

Apparently, they are quite controversial. For the most part, I really admire them. I don't agree with all of their philosophies (and Greg cannot stand that his name is "Jim Bob." Every time the show is on, he always says, "Why doesn't he just go with 'Jim'?" I think his name is actually James, which makes me wonder how one gets "Jim" from "James" or "Bill" from "William" or "Dick" from "Richard". It just doesn't make sense. They aren't shortened nicknames, they are completely different names. Why don't people just name their children the name by which they will be called?).

Anyway...I digress.

I don't agree with all of their philosophies, but I greatly admire parents that are willing to bring so many children into the world and teach them all and love them so much. It boggles my mind how a mother can plan and prepare just to meet the physical needs of 19 children, but Michelle Duggar seems to do that and manage to truly love each child and find joy in having them around with astounding patience and true dedication. It is amazing.

The other day, I had their show on while folding laundry. Doing laundry for 7 people seems so manageable when I compare it to their household. Anyway, during this episode, Jim Bob and Michelle were sitting at the kitchen table trying to finish up their 2nd book. Every couple of minutes, another child came up needing something-a face wiped, a diaper changed, help with some schoolwork, a snack, etc. Then, it had a little clip of Jim Bob (cheerily) explaining that it was a little challenging to get their work done with all of the distractions.

The point of my post and my lesson for the day:

Next, it had a little clip of Michelle responding to her husband's statement. To paraphrase, she said something like this: "Well, I wouldn't call them 'distractions.' The children are our priority; the book is the distraction."

I don't know how many times I am trying to get something done, and I get frustrated and lose my patience because I am distracted by my kids. I don't know how many times I get on the phone or the computer to make an important call or send an necessary email and all chaos breaks loose in the house. The other day, I caught Kade jumping on a bag of chips to get it open while I was trying to fill out insurance papers. Or right now, as I write this, Spencer is "coloring" on the table while Kade is pushing all of our chairs to the corner of the house. The only problem, Spencer was sitting on the chair and I intervened as Spence was holding onto the table by his fingertips. Last week, Paige managed to go through an entire box of Band-Aids during a piano lesson.

I need to change my attitude. These kids are my first priority; everything else comes second. These kids were not given to me to be an afterthought. These kids are my greatest blessings and I have no right getting frustrated when I perceive that they are"interfering" with my life.