Rocks, Pebbles and Sand

I read this a long time ago, where I am not sure.  If someone knows the author, please let me know and I will give credit.

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks right to the top. Rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The students laughed. He asked his students again if the jar was full? They agreed that yes, it was. The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale. The pebbles represent things like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff. If you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks.

The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, material things, you will never have room for the things that are truly most important. Pay attention to the things that are critical in your life. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner and the movies. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal."

Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just pebbles and sand. 

As things are really busy around here, I try to remember to put the big rocks first, both here, and at the office. 

May in a Nutshell

Things have been pretty much turned up-side down around here since my last post.

The end of April saw a tough day for my co-workers at our family business in a round of lay-offs.  The marketing department now looks very different, led by my Dad with the rest going through me - some to be handled by me, and some by his assistant, IT, and others I've recruited for things like taking photographs when I'm not there. It has been a big shift for our family, as I went from working 10-15 hours a week to something like 30 this week (hopefully not a permanent solution) .  My mom has been awesome, watching the kiddos for me three times this week, and offering to help as much as she can.  Fred has been really supportive.  Before we married, before the children arrived in our lives, he didn't quite agree with my desire to be a stay at home mom.  Now that I've started putting in more hours, instead of thinking about the extra money I'll bring in, he worries about the kids needing their mother around more.  That makes me feel good, to have a husband who wants to provide for our family and wants the best for our children.

The other bit of chaos landed on May 2nd with the passing of my 93 year old grandmother.  She'd been sick with Alzheimer's for roughly 20 years, a length of time totally unheard of for that disease.  Her departure came not with overwhelming sadness, as we've grieved her loss bit by bit as her illness took her slowly away from us.  I always worried that I would only remember her as the voiceless woman in a wheel chair, but now I know that when I think of her, I always think of the kind woman I loved who cooked wonderful family meals, told stories about her family, liked to watch the humming birds, and put curlers in her hair every night before bed.

We had a visitation here the week of her death, and then  Mom and I packed up the car and drove to Virginia.  It was the first LONG road trip I've taken with either of the kiddos, and not quite as enjoyable as I would have liked, with everything going on back home with work.  The first day on the road we had hardly made it past the state line when we had car trouble.  Thankfully we found a great (and honest!) mechanic in Sulphur, LA and the rest of the trip was uneventful.

I love Virginia, though.  The weather was great.  My cousins' old house on the James River is beautiful and filled with antiques.  We buried 'Mom' next to Papa after a service at Bethany, a small church near my grandfather's childhood home.  Somehow, though I've never lived there, Virginia feels a bit like home, and I was sad to leave after so short a stay.

My camera is full of photographs that need to be posted, so I hope to do that one day soon. I promise to share then, with more amusing updates about my sweet kiddos, who are both growing like little weeds.