Urgent Vs. Important

I was at the gym this morning (I actually felt human enough to go) and was reading O magazine. I love a lot of things about Oprah, although I don't agree with all of her values, I think she does a lot of good. That is neither here nor there, because I just need something to distract me from the pain when I am working out. Anyhoo--I read this article about making time for the things in our life that are important, not just the things that are urgent. It sounds like such a great concept...unless you are a stay-at-home mother of four trying to keep everyone alive, help your hubby through his master's, and prepare to move in two months. How do I decide what is urgent but not important so that I can weed it out of my life? Isn't being a mom surrendering to the idea that everything in your life is urgent and important? For example, I have to go potty, (hypothetically, although I am sure it will become a reality sometime soon) definitely an urgent situation, and an important one (I need healthy kidneys as much as the next girl!), but my little girls are trying to take each other's head off over who gets to play with the Barbie carriage--urgent and important! (This is NOT hypothetical, but a frequent occurrence in my life--just substitute different children and different objects to fight over). How do I choose? Here is another one, this one real and occurring in a couple of hours--I need to get Ellie ready for her soccer game, take her there by 4:45 and be prepared to cheer for the next hour. I also need to pick up Andy from soccer practice down at the high school and transport him to Ellie's game, since he has been helping coach her team, also at 4:45. Both things are urgent and important and impossible to accomplish while maintaining any semblance of sanity. This could explain why I feel crazier with each passing year of motherhood. Maybe that is what motherhood is--doing the urgent, the important and the impossible with little if any recognition (seriously, I don't expect anyone in society to acknowledge what I do has value, and my kids won't appreciate it until they are at least 25) and with the least amount of collateral damage, especially to my kidneys. Which reminds me, I need to go potty, and take the brownies out of the oven, and pick up Andy for a dentist appointment...

Here's to all of you amazing, beautiful women doing the most urgent, impossible and important job of all: being a mother to your children! I am in awe of all of you!

And seriously, if you have any good tips on how to clone yourself....