Recently, I was working with a life-coach to try to determine what my life’s mission is. We were doing a pretty shabby job, frankly, of going through Stephen Covey’s classic book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Apparently, I needed a Mission Statement! Hmmm — what might that be for a an oldish, divorced, single mom with three kids ten and under, who used to be ‘stay at home’ but is now ‘work from home’ and could start a flippin’ millinery with all the hats I have to wear in my life.
Hmmm — Am I about business, love, family, fun, spiritual growth, writing, publishing, did I mention some kind of social life?, fun, kids, action, responsibility, and continuing to create a vibrant life for myself...what???
For days on end I wrote, and meditated, and thought, and wrote some more about what my Mission should be!
Then one night it hit me:
It was late and we had just finished dinner. Everyone needed a bath. Tonight I just lined them up altogether in the tub and bathed them one-by-one...an assembly line of kids. First: All the heads, then feet, then bodies, then tushies. With drill-sergeant-like efficiency, they were bathed in a flash. Then I noticed that everyone had really long fingernails and toenails. Even though it was really late, I am nothing if not compulsive, so I made each one come sit down next to mommy and “hand ‘em over buster.”
One by one, hand by hand, foot by squirmy foot, I endured the cacophony that always accompanies the scary task of getting one’s nails cut. Horrors!!!
After completing this latest mission impossible, I put them to bed with a sweet hug and a kiss on each wet little noggin.
Going back to my room, I laid down on my bed. It came upon me ever so slowly: I had the answer I had been seeking.
My mission could be summed up in 5 words: Thirty Fingers and Thirty Toes.
