Ever wondered why kids have no concept of time? Could it be because every time we say things like “with you in two minutes, darling” or “just a second, sweetie” it is a complete and utter lie?! I find myself spouting lies like this on a daily basis (when has ANYTHING ever taken just two minutes?!)

Everyone I speak to these days is running to keep up with life. The demands upon our time are relentless and overwhelming; not to mention the organisation that’s needed to go with it all. It is very easy to get lost in the cacophony and try to seek solace somewhere, anywhere. My solace is Instagram. Yep…I’ve admitted it. I would like my solace to be a good book but I don’t have the time to choose one nor the brain capacity to remember to take it with me everywhere (just in case I need said solace in the playground, etc.)

I’d also be happy if my solace could be salsa but the mums at school already think I’m weird for wearing red lippie when I’m feeling meh (it’s an amazing pick-me-up – you should try it!) so throwing out some Latino shapes on the school run might raise more than a few eyebrows.

So Instagram it is. Those easy-access squares full of perfectly styled homes, Gi and Tom Fletcher, the endless giveaways and mesmerising loop videos of people drawing and writing beautiful things.

And then the sucker-punch came. From Instagram itself (yoooooo-sun-ova-beech). My trusted solace kicked me in the lady bits and gave me a lump in my throat. If this had been a movie scene, all background noise would fade as the camera slowly zooms in on my pensive (yet unnaturally youthful) face before I poignantly switch my phone off [end scene].

One simple meme (pronounced /mem/ in my head, not /meem/) made me think far harder than I care to admit:

There you have it, folks…at that precise moment in time, I realised I had prioritised Instagram over my kids.

In hindsight, I’ve prioritised all sorts of questionable shit – Netflix over a clean kitchen, CBeebies over play time, yelling at the tribe instead of being a few minutes late.  I can make all the excuses I want (as some of you will when you read this) but my choices are undeniable. They are in plain sight, should we choose to see them.

Now, I am not for one minute suggesting that life should be void of the likes of Insta and CBeebies (I’m not batshit crey-crey just yet) but I am suggesting we all take a minute and look at our little choices a bit more carefully. Have you stood watching Channing Tatum stroke a pony whilst a little person pulled on your leg for attention? Have you entered into a long WhatsApp convo about cruffins instead of reading that Thomas story you’ve promised them since you got home from school? Have you volunteered to wash up and got lost in an old episode of The Big Bang Theory? I have. And probably will again, but hopefully far less than I used to.

Next time you think you’re too busy, just remember – we all have the same amount of time in our day, we just choose to use it differently. So, pick your priorities meaningfully and you’ll be amazed how much time you actually have.

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Thanks to the following peeps for letting me use their snaps:

Felix & Fox – www.felixandfox.co.uk

Bukky H – www.instagram.com/lexden_home/

Giovanna Fletcher – www.instagram.com/mrsgifletcher/

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