Savoring Motherhood
It’s so easy to get caught up in the work of motherhood that we forget the joy of mothering, isn’t it?
The chaos, the distractions, the immediate, the emergencies, the noise, the load…
There are fires to be put out, check lists to cross, tasks that need attention.
Hurry. Frazzle. Rush.
And in the bustle and the busy, we miss the very thing that we will someday long for in a way that will make our hearts ache.
It caught me by surprise in the way that life often does last night, as I was making my grocery list. A soft request to read a book that at first felt like an interruption from a more necessary task. After all, there are six mouths to be fed, right?
Instead I embraced the interruption. I soaked in a moment when four little bodies gathered around mine. This moment I didn’t miss, but how many have slipped without me noticing?
The pull of the constant busy forces us to miss the essentials.
My job as a mother isn’t to have the cleanest house, or the laundry caught up, or a feast to boast about, or a job that gives significance.
It’s here in these moments of catching our breaths, in chasing critters, impromptu splashing in puddles, in listening, comforting, teaching, in loving the way only a mother can.
These are the moments that will not be regretted. These are the moments that time will not always be so generous with.
It’s here in this season that I need to savor.
I love your post. I downloaded the pictures to put as wallpaper on my computer, thank you!
Oh, I SO agree! I also have four sons. In the crazy toddler and preschool years, I remember longing for bedtime. One thing that helped me focus was to think about the difference between the urgent (the grocery shopping, the doorbell, the carpool) and the important (reading to them, filling their love tanks, teaching them what they needed to know in life).
Now that three of them are grown and on their own, I can look back with few regrets. I was THERE. It’s everything.
Enjoy those little ones!
This has always been a hard lesson for me. I am an achiever by nature, and have to really force myself to play with my kids. My love language is acts of service, so I show my love by cleaning, cooking, etc. But my boys’ love language is QUALITY TIME.
Love that you say “here IN this SEASON I NEED to SAVOR”. It is so hard when logistical demands and physical needs are so much louder than the ability to receive the gift of all that we have ever prayed for. Season is such a strong word for me right now…as we are in the thick of entering a new season…almost 18 months. I sometimes really think that my life lot is this; changing diapers, chasing curious feet and sharing my lap with three crying, frustrated little people. It’s nice to be reminded that this is just a season…one that I am sure I will miss…just as I do those preciously exhausting middle of the night feedings. Thanks for the images and reminders…it is hard to live in the moment…and sometimes even harder to blog and record and share with others the lessons you are learning along the way – thanks for sharing it with others!! Hope to meet you someday…I know we have lots of mutual connections in Indy & the multiples world!!
I read in a book today about a woman who really treasured how her grandmother would drop preparation for a dinner party to color or play with her. That struck my heart so! Would I do that for my kids? I want them to remember that they were SO important to me. I try never to refuse to read to them because I am doing something else.
such wise words. 🙂
Wise advice! I have always struggled w being behind! Hugs are best!
Great words to remember. Being a very task oriented mom, I often need to hear words like these to remember that interruptions to my to do list are memories in the making.