people like me

We were just reading.

It was about 4 in the afternoon, with the late afternoon light fading away. Samuel and Elijah gathered in my lap, leaning on my shoulders, as I read to them The Lorax. I was tired, sore from shoveling, had big poofy and scraggly hair due to wearing a hat, and I welcomed this moment of peace.

I read.

There I was sitting in jeans and in my t-shirt that I got from Blissdom that I threw on when I went out to shovel. A t-shirt from Famous Footwear that said People Like Me with a big facebook thumbs up.

The irony. Really. It hit me smack in my face as I read to those two little boys.

Who do I really want to like me? Of course, I’m grateful for you all — truly I am. But those little boys in my lap? Or the two other boys working diligently outside on the most massive and coolest snow fort ever {their words}? Or my daughter Grace, also outside, building a rival fort? Or my daughter, Chloe, dancing away at ballet? Or my eldest, Hannah, working away? Or my husband? Who do I really deep down want to say likes me?

It’s them.

And often, I’ve failed them when I’ve let my priorities get all screwed up. I’ll tell them just a minute, or get frustrated when I need to finish just one more word, or I’ll stay up too late working and then I’m tired for them. Jon Acuff, author of Quitter and speaker at Blissdom, impressed the importance of being present. He shared a moment in his life where his daughter was trying to get him to look at something and then she placed a hand-written note on his iphone that said {in that cute misspelled way of youth} daddy pay attention.

Ouch.

So, yes, while I love it when you click my like button, or retweet, or leave me sweet and encouraging comments, the bottom line is this — those people that you read about on my blog? Those kids? Hannah, Chloe, Grace, Brennan, Caleb, Elijah, and Samuel? And my husband, Todd? They are the people that matter the most. They’re the ones that I hope click the like button of life. Was I there? Did I really pay attention? Or were they just waiting for me to stop being so busy with the things I deemed important?

This social media stuff. It’s powerful. We are a generation of information, and encouragement and change. There is so much good to be found and cultivated in this massive social media world — pinterest, facebook, twitter, blogging, forums, and more. However, it needs to be managed or else, honestly, it will manage you.

I’m working to define better boundaries. Less time online during the day. And that’s hard. This writing, the blogging, it’s important to me. It’s part of who I’ve become. But, you know what? Those little boys sitting in my lap while I wear the People Like Me shirt trump all of this.

I love them.

They are forever in my hearts.

And they come first.

Always.