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| Daily Goals
By Julie Perkins Cantrell
 I once asked a friend why she spent hours canning jams, preserves, and sauces. She responded, “At the end of the day, I can look at the rows of filled jars and feel like I accomplished something.”
Her answer took me off guard. First, I thought, “Doesn’t she realize that she accomplishes many things each day?” Then, I realized the importance of creating and attaining goals.
My friend could have easily viewed her canning regimen as a chore, a necessary and efficient way to handle the bountiful harvest. Instead, she chose to see the beauty and benefits of a productive process. What a great lesson for all of us moms!
Think about it. Men seem to always have some goal they are working toward. Whether it is getting a paycheck, catching a fish, getting a hole in one, or rebuilding an engine, most guys seek visible, attainable goals in their lives.
As mothers, our accomplishments are often harder to measure. We are constantly setting and completing a million little goals a day without even realizing it. Why? Because moms often do the jobs that need to be done over and over – laundry, diapers, cleaning… taken as single chores, few of these seem like real goals to accomplish.
What to do? We can aim for bigger challenges, such as earning an advanced degree or completing a project we have always wanted to try. But it never hurts to set and recognize the little goals we accomplish along the way. Goals like my friend’s canning.
By viewing our habitual responsibilities at home as challenges and goals, we can renew our interest in such mundane tasks as cleaning the house and planning a menu. More importantly, we can remind ourselves not to take those less-than-inspirational moments with the kids for granted, but instead, to recognize that the most crucial goals we accomplish daily are with our children. Even diaper changes seem worthwhile.
Consider all of the goals you have accomplished today. And set a few simple goals for tomorrow – maybe it’s to read a few Bible verses, maybe it’s to keep your children clean and fed for the day, maybe it’s to do some canning of your own. It doesn’t matter what your daily goals are, but that you learn to reap the rewards of those daily tasks.
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Julie lives in Firestone, Colorado, with her husband Charles; their two
children, Emily and Adam; and their lovable Golden Retriever, Maggie. A former
speech-language pathologist, Julie is a regular contributor to MOMSense
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