Savor the Moments

How many of you have a subscription to Parents Magazine? I have one and like most parenting related literature you take some pieces of it and apply it to your life and other pieces you leave. This month had a fabulous article. Its title, Savor the Moments. You can already anticipate what's ahead!

Being a stay at home I feel like I am on at all moments of the day. Part of what comes with being home with the kids is that I am the one they turn to for most everything. J is getting to the age (3.5) where he will settle for dad or will hang out with my in laws but Eme Lu (1) is still such a mama's girl. Example, yesterday I got a haircut in my kitchen, and Eme cried the entire time if I wasn't holding her. Trying to get things accomplished throughout the day seems near impossible. My house suffers, I am sleep deprived most days, showering solo is a thing of the past, and laundry seems never ending. The daily grind I suppose. And I'm certain that for parents who are doing double duty of working full time and being parents it gets equally as difficult. Finding the balance of work, home life and spending quality time with your kids is a never ending struggle.

I need to savor the moments. Instead of focusing on what needs to get done I am starting to focus on what I have gotten done. That doesn't mean all the laundry is clean, folded and put away, because 99% of the time it's not or that my kitchen is always clean because that too is a rarity.  Today though, I had breakfast with my family. I read books with my kids. We listened to music and danced. I went to my first Zumba class and Z worked out while my kids went to my in laws, and they both did great! I did some picking up and there is laundry running right now. I hugged both of my kids and told them I love them.  As I write this, I lay next to my sleeping beauty and watch her eyes flutter while she dreams. I can hear Z and J "fixing" something together and having some good quality boy time. A snippet from the article that I think we should all ponder: "Each day with young kids feels like a week, each week like a month. Yet as every birthday passes, the years seem to be streaking by at warp speed. Five-month-olds become five year olds in the blink of an eye, and then 15 year olds."

Days get long, I am not one to argue that. Days where I feel like I have nothing left to offer and my patience are wearing thin, I can't wait for bedtime to come so I can rest. But then a new day comes and the next and like the article said, another year has passed. While our days seem to be long think about the content of your day. Think about all the times you've smiled watching your little ones, or big ones, do something that makes you proud. I am encouraging all of you to join me in pausing throughout the day to savor the moments. Smile, laugh, enjoy our little beings because before long the house will be quiet and we will yearn for the loud voices and the toys all over. Before we know it, our kids will be grown. Let's let our kids be kids and wear their pajamas all day, or wear two different colored socks, or paint their entire body just because it's fun. And while they're doing it, pause and smile instead of being quick to jump in. Who is with me?

xo

J when he was 15 months old. I look at this picture and can vividly remember our day together. Yet it was two years ago and he looks so little.

Eme Lu as a wee little one. Again, another day I remember and it feels like so long ago.

A recent one of Eme Lu. She's growing and changing soo fast!

And Mr. J. Wow, he looks like a big kid here!