My Needs

I woke Saturday morning pretty grumpy and annoyed. I was having another one of those pity parties, where I think I have been meeting everyone else's needs except for my own. I thought to myself, "Who's going to meet my needs? Who takes care of me?" And then a couple of things hit me. First, do I even know what my needs are? If I don't, how can anyone else? Secondly, if my needs aren't getting met, then it's my responsibility to talk to those who love me about helping me fulfill my needs.

I started pondering. What are my needs? And what things are really only wants, not needs? Now I ask you: have you ever really truly pondered these questions? What would your answers be?

I made a list (of course I did, don't y'all know me?) of my needs and my wants. I ranked my needs on a scale of 1-10, 1 being insignificant and 10 being crucial. I also tried to label the frequency of the need (daily, weekly, etc.). The first thing that came to mind for me was a daily shower. Yes, I NEED a shower every day. That was a 10. Also on my list: daily time "off" (which could be fulfilled during naps, after the kids' bedtime, or on Parents Day Out days), ten minutes of quiet daily, praying on my knees, church weekly, 30 minutes of computer daily, weekly meditation bath, daily 15 minute talk with friends and Dan, daily exercise, weekly weigh in, blog twice weekly, and going to bed at 10:00.

The wants are: 30 minutes of reading daily, 1 hour of computer daily (the need is 30), blog every 2-3 days, and going to bed at 9:30 (which I am missing by seven minutes at the moment!).

Here's the sad thing, which I'm kind of ashamed about: did you notice that my kids aren't listed in my needs? Maybe that's because I'm parched for time away from them right now, as three weeks of cycle break is coming to an end. And maybe that's because I am with them daily, almost hourly in some cases, so the need has already been fulfilled. I didn't put breathing or eating on my list of needs, because it goes without saying. Maybe that's the same with my kids?

So now that my needs are so plainly laid out in front of me, I have to figure out how to use time management to fulfill them. Dan and I had a good talk last night, and he is going to take care of some items. I'd like to handle some of the others by having a better daily routine. With school back in session starting on Tuesday, that should become a little easier.

I've kind of enjoyed this whole exercise in figuring out my needs. I've asked myself some important questions, like:

What moves me?

What are the chains that hold me back in life?

How long can I expect to keep up my current pace?

I think the new year is a GREAT time for asking myself these questions. The bottom line is that once my needs are met, I can fulfill others' needs. Because I know, without a doubt, that there are three other people in my house depending on me. I gotta be on my game for them.