Life Happens
I watch as I see the young woman seated in the middle of her kitchen floor watching her little nine month old Sarah pulls everything out of the cabinet while sharing a fresh garden tomato with her other two little ones who are only dressed in mis-matched outfits they chose this morning. Her hair is in a pony tail and while she put on clean clothes today, they have baby food spots, syrup and egg stains from breakfast. It matters not the dishes are not washed or this morning’s laundry is still not folded, and toys are strewn from one end of the house to the other or that the checkbook is far from balanced!
Laughing, she looked up at me and said, “You know last Monday I had the house all straight and it still looked like a tornado had gone through. But I don’t care. I love spending time with my babies. Somewhere deep inside me there’s daddy’s little girl, a daughter, a momma, and a wife who has it all together. Her house is in order, check book balanced, dinner is in the slow cooker, a play date is planned for the little guys and she still enjoys life! But, alas, for the moment she’s in hiding and just refuses to come out!”
I loved her perspective! It’s about priorities! It about relationships that matter this very minute! I remember when my own children were little, I had a note stuck to my refrigerator that said, “My house isn’t dirty; we are decorated in early childhood!”
It is so easy to get lost in our to-do list! I know! I do it! I get so focused on getting stuff done, I lose those moments to just “be!” For that reason, I have chosen to take a moment, in the morning with my cup of herbal tea (I enjoy coffee, but am trying really hard to ease up on how much I drink!), sit out on the front porch and just enjoy my beautiful surroundings. It doesn’t sound like much, but when I take the time to have “quiet time” my day seems to go so much more smoothly. It gives me time to sweep out the cobwebs, file a few things in my mental filing cabinet and if I get real creative, I can always grab a piece of paper and pencil and scribble down some thoughts.
I know one family who adopted a little girl when she was only an infant. This little one, however, is a grown woman now and severely handicapped. When we visit, Momma sits in the floor with her now much older daughter, because this is where her daughter is most comfortable. My friend said, “This is where I live. But I love her so very much. We both do.”
Loving this daughter was completely visible to this onlooker. Appreciation and perhaps even a touch of awe washed over me. We really do have a very short time on this Earth when you look at the whole scope of things. We get so caught up in life, we miss out on so much. The idea of sitting in the floor with the babies and perhaps our disabled child, means more than making sure the clothes are all folded, the dishes are all washed and beds made! Our little people grow up so fast and there is no way we can reclaim lost time. It isn’t possible! Once those moments are spent, they are spent forever.
So I challenge you to hold your little ones—-and bigger sons and daughters close. Let them know you, as a mom or dad are willing to carve moments out of your day to make memories with them. Cherish these moments. One day they will have grown up and discover a world away from you. Sometimes it is a very, very sad event as their life scoops them up and carries them away to their own lives; work, career and children of their own. Enjoy them now. It may be all you have!
Photo Credit: https://www.google.com/search?q=free+pictures+of+toys+on+floor+of+the+kitchen&client=safari&channel=iphone_bm&sxsrf=