Just like you, my parents always kept their word. Always followed thru with everything. Came to every performance, sporting event – every function I was involved in they were there front row center cheering me on. Always kept their word for everything. Because that was everything I knew from when I was a young kid, it was what I thought everyone was supposed to be like. Nope, not at all. And somewhere down the line I screwed up and I became nothing like my parents. Your speech made me really think of how many times I have let my family down by not keeping promises and how many times I have said mehh ill do it tomorrow. Or theres always another day. No, there isn’t. I work as a 911 dispatcher and just as many centers across the country we are very shorthanded. 12- 16hr days – sometimes 6 days a week with sometimes working 80hrs+ in a single week. There has been many times where I said I would be there and I couldn’t because I got stuck at work or was just too tired when I got home. Im was always working, always taking on more hours at work to provide more for my family. Would pass up on my vacation time and store it and keep working to make more money. What you made me realize it that no matter how much money I make, I cant buy back lost time with my kids. I cant buy back those memories they made without me being there. I cant buy them happiness. Why am I saving my vacation time? Pushing off time ive earned working so damn much to work more? Yeah that doesn’t make sense to me either. I live in Maui, Hawaii. Im giving up time I could be at the beach with my family to be stuck in a room with no windows for 16hrs a day. But I started thinking about a promise to myself to be a better mother to my 4 amazing children. At first I wrote : Be a better mother tomorrow than I was today. Then realized its exactly what ive been doing wrong this whole time, putting off promises til tomorrow. Changed my card to say ‘Be a better mother today than I was yesterday’. I have the promise card in the holder for my work ID/Badge that’s attached to my car keys. It goes everywhere with me. A constant reminder to give them my all. Keep all my promises.
Posted by Terryn.