Yesterday, I decided to put all my work aside and dug out several boxes from the study cupboard. Those boxes had been in the cupboard for as long as I could remember. I set aside the whole day to do this; or it would have been another few more years before I ventured into that part of the cupboard again…..

So here it goes…

While I started opening the boxes, photos of my family stared back at me. Photos of: all our holidays together, our outings, dinners with our extended families overseas, the time at Dream World and Sea World in Queensland,  our road trip to both South and North Islands in New Zealand when my children were still in preschool, their school performances, school sports (where they were still wearing their floppy hats), the endless birthday parties at McDonalds and bowling alleys, face painting, the cubby house my Dad built for my son when he was one year old…and many many more photos, which brought back wonderful memories.

I started to drift back to the wonderful time when my children were really young – when they had to hold my hands when crossing the road, the story time at the local libraries, our weekly pizza picnic at the park, our shopping time when they had to help me with the shopping list and search for the items at the shop, and the many wonderful activities we shared together…..

All of a sudden, everything about life was brought back into perspective!

I remembered why we started a family in the first place. The time we shared with the children really went past us very quickly. Now my two children are working; they no longer need me to hold their hands when crossing the road, now I have to do the shopping on my own without my two helpers…..I look back with so much appreciation of the wonderful memories we shared. I have learned so many things from my children and they made me a better person. So much emotion was surfacing!

Why am I sharing this with you?

This is what I want you to do whenever you are feeling frustrated with your yourself or your family? Or  if you are angry with your child for not listening or disobeying? If you are annoyed with your child for one thing or another? Or when you feel you are about to give up….

Do what I just did…

Flip through your photo albums!  And start writing “captions” next to each photo. Try putting thoughts into words next to each photo. Just try it. This exercise will bring you back for a reality check and start putting everything into perspective.

Your family is precious! So enjoy your family. Your children will grow up really fast; treasure the moment you have with them. You want to be able to look back at all those years with a smile and the fondest and proudest memories you could possibly have.

Remember it is not about Quantity – it is ALL about Quality!

Your FAMILY is Precious!!!

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