In Time We Trust: A Stitch In Time
Thought Things First
How does one determine what is important? What is urgent? What can be set aside until later?
"If you want something done, give it to a busy mom." - Common Adage
A Well-Planned Saturday
A single mom had an active 9-year-old son, a full-time job, and a boyfriend of 10 months.
All-American Saturday: Saturday was going to be a full day. Her son had a 10 AM soccer practice, and her boyfriend was coming over at 5:30 PM for a dinner and Netflix date.
The mom wanted to tidy the house before her son's practice and go grocery shopping during practice. She had her to-do checklist, which included purchasing a home pregnancy test kit. Then, she had to work on organizing a project for her boss, followed by prepping food for dinner and, of course, taking the pregnancy test all before 5:30 PM. On top of that, her two cats required some devotion and attention. Self-care would just have to wait!
She set an early alarm to get ahead of the day, understanding her day would be a busy one.
Breakfast Troubles
After making eggs and toast for her son, the mom hurriedly cut the crusts off both pieces of bread. In her rush, she had missed the crust of one edge of the bread.
While his mom was in the other room cleaning the cat litter box, he yelled at his mom, "You forgot to cut all the crust!" She said she would be there in just a moment and that they were leaving in 10 minutes for "the best soccer practice ever."
"I Got It!" Her son, seeing how busy his mom was and figuring he could save her some time, grabbed a kitchen knife to do the trimming. However, he missed the bread and ended up slicing his finger, crying out in pain.
His mother came running when she heard the commotion.
How Deep Is Your Love? The mother immediately determined that the 1.5-inch long cut was deep. She wanted to just put a bandage on the wound, but upon closer inspection, she knew that it would require at least two stitches. "I should have been watching my kid," she muttered to herself. “I don’t have time for this,” she thought further.
"Mom?" asked her son, clearly frightened and in pain. "Am I going to have a scar?"
A Different Persepctive
The mother looked at her son's wound and surmised that the scar would be a doozy. All the same, she told him, "This is going to be a teeny, teeny scar. Besides, scars are reminders of your adventures and proof you have enjoyed life. You will be proud of each and every scar you've earned -- including this one, because it shows you were trying to help your mom."
“Bones heal, chicks dig scars, pain is temporary, glory is forever.” - Evel Knievel
Snitches Get (More) Stitches: With that, the two went to the local urgent care center. Ninety minutes later, her son received five stitches. They had missed practice, and she had not completed any shopping.
All of the mother's plans had fallen by the wayside. Everything she planned to do that day got bumped by something more important: going to urgent care and getting her son stitches.
“Best stitches ever," the son told the mom afterward.
The Moral of the Story: You always make time for the most important things.
Click here for our Disclaimers, Disclosures, Disavowals, And Declarations (aka - I told you so).