A Reminder to Take Advantage of Small Moments

See the scary monster with the angry scowl below....This is how I felt the other day.  I had to work really hard to keep the BEAST from coming out.

Rewind to earlier that day, I read a blog post about cherishing more moments.  I liked that the author pointed out that it is impossible to cherish every moment.  We have lives and there are things that we must take care of and do.  But it is possible to take advantage of some moments.

After work, I stopped to pick up the kids and soon we were on our way home.  There I was, in my car with all of my children, feeling stressed, hot, and working really hard not to bark at them to be quiet and stop touching each other.

It was then that I heard a faint song in the background.  I reached down and turned up the radio.  It was "Good Morning" by Mandisa.  Usually the radio station only plays this song in the morning, but here it was playing at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.  My kids and I really like this song, so I turned it up and started singing along at the top of my lungs.  Soon all of the kids had joined in.

It definitely lifted my spirits.  When I arrived home, instead of jumping into my normal routine (straightening up, starting dinner, going through the mail, etc) I went into the living room and laid down on the floor.  I told myself, "Take a moment.  Those things can wait."  

Soon Clara was at my side asking for a snack.  I got up, got her a small bowl of cheerios from the kitchen and returned to the living room floor with her trailing behind me.  She jabbered about this and that and spilled her cheerios at least twice.

For a minute she settled on talking about her upcoming birthday, proudly announcing to me that she will soon be three - all the while only holding up one finger.  I tried to teach her how to hold up three fingers, but she finally tired of me trying to manipulate her pudgy little hands.

Then she asked me to take a picture of her.  She loves pictures.  Each time a picture is snapped, she must see that picture before another can be taken.

As I sat there snapping pictures and listening to her speak, I was overwhelmed, but in a good way. Overwhelmed with her beautiful blue eyes, with how well she speaks, with the way her brain works.  I was overwhelmed with her wonderful laughter, her silly faces, her voice when she sings.  I am overwhelmed that she is going to be three in a few short weeks.  Where has the time gone? When did my baby grow up?

I need these quiet moments to cherish my children, to remind me that motherhood is not as thankless as it sometimes feels.  Motherhood is not just about feeding and clothing my children and making sure they have a clean home to live in.  It is not just about teaching them to sit reverently during church or making sure they finish their homework.  Motherhood is for me too.  

I need to take advantage of these moments more often.  Yes, life is busy.  Yes, there are things that I must do and times when I simply cannot choose to just sit on the living room floor for an hour.  But I can still take advantage of other times.  Times when I do not have pressing responsibilities to attend to.  Times that I can choose to cherish each of my babies, before it's too late.

These small moments help me to truly see these beautiful little people I helped to create.  These moments help me see past the stress those little people bring upon Nathan and I.  Past the tantrums, trouble and messes that seem to follow them around.  These moments are a good reminder that while feeding my children and teaching them responsibility are good things, I must stop and taste the fruit of my labor occasionally.  That day while I sat and watched my amazing little girl and admired her sweet little face, I realized just how sweet that fruit really is.