Too often, I
will admit, I go rushing through my days, even weeks, trying to check off my
never-ending to-do list. My kids get
dragged along, in and out of car seats, as I rush to the grocery store, to the post
office, to drop something by a neighbor’s house, then back home again, to finish
the chores and make dinner while ushering the kids
out of the kitchen over and over again. By the time night falls, I am so
exhausted, my kids are restless, and I dump them on my husband, who couldn't possibly have had so much to deal with at work as I did at home with the kids.
I feel like I need to sit and take a
break just thinking about it!
After doing
this a while, I feel a gentle nudge on my conscience that I am missing
something! How do I so often let the
busyness of life distract me from the really
important things? As I rush through
the day, why do all the other things take priority, leaving my kids and husband
seemingly less important?
Unfortunately,
my desire to do it all, and to do everything the best I can, causes me to
come up short in the most important
things--namely, my family! No matter how I put it, when I stop and think
about it, I know that no e-mail, errand, or chore is more important than
spending time with my kids and husband.
When my son B
yells “Mom! Look at ME! I am reminded that it is not enough just to be in the
same room as my kids or husband, but to be in the moment together!
President
Thomas S. Monson (our prophet) said, “If you are still in the process of
raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost
every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and
piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly.”
And so, I
close the laptop, or stop whatever I was doing, and I read to my kiddos, or I
play Memory with B, or we turn on the music and dance, or run around the
house. These are the moments that I love! Laughing together! Playing tickle
fight. Screaming and giggling as we chase
each other. Energy spent together,
moments spent together, memories being made… That is what it is all
about!
And, instead
of dumping the kids on an already worn-out husband, sharing the responsibility
of bedtime together eases the load on both of us. Then sitting down together to rest from our tiring day, taking time to really talk (not distractedly from
behind the laptop…I’m guilty, again), sharing in the moment is what makes our marriage tick!
I love this
video, because it reminds me of these most important moments that I
cherish.
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