One or 24?

I saw a cartoon the other day . . . it depicted a man in a doctor's office.  The man was sitting on the exam room table in his boxer shorts and no shirt.  The doctor was standing next to him, looking at his file.  The caption is the doctor saying, "Well, what CAN you fit into your busy schedule?  One hour of exercise each day . . . or 24 hours of being dead?"  Pretty clear choice there, don't you think?  And even though the cartoon showed a middle-aged, beer-bellied man as the overly busy culprit, my thoughts went to all the young "soccer moms" who say to me, "oh, I just don't have time to come to class."  They tell me about driving to soccer practice and games and tournaments in other states.  They tell me about all the homework their kids have and how they have to help create the projects that are due each quarter.  They go on to tell me that when soccer is over, football will start and then it's basketball and then it's baseball.  Their blood pressure and their voices literally rise right before me as they justify their reasons for not taking time for themselves.  I want to shake them.  I want to say "one hour . . . or 24 hours?"  Who will be there for your kids if you don't take the one hour?  It's not going to happen tomorrow unless you make it happen today.  How do you think your kids would respond if given the choice of participating in one more sport, or having their mom be there when they graduate? or get married? or have kids of their own? Take your hour TODAY.  Then do it again tomorrow.  And then after a month of taking 30 hours out of the 720 available, take a good look at your kids and tell me that they really are worse off because you took those 30 hours for yourself. And then look in the mirror and realize that taking care of yourself is the best gift you can give your family.