Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Clarity

There are times when I look around and realize I need to be more positive. I am trying to find the silver lining these days and tonight that hit me especially hard. On most nights when putting the kids to bed I am trying to hurry through it and hoping they fall asleep quickly so I can have my quiet time or get a list of things done. Tonight I realized that I should be so happy that my kids still want me to tuck them in and sit with them til they are asleep. It is time where we can talk quietly without being interrupted and sing songs to them. The days keep going by faster and faster and I know that it will be too soon before they are grown. So a resolution for me is to enjoy our bedtime routine. Most of the time it is simple things that bring me joy, and taking the time to notice the little miracles that happen daily will overshadow the negative. Life is having it's ups and downs with us and there is so much to be greatful for. I'm trying to find that silver lining all around me becuase I know it is there and I just need to look a little harder to find it.

5 comments:

the 4 of us said...

Great post! A great reminder for me to use "bed-time" more wisely instead of lying there wishing they would hurry and sleep :)

Suzette said...

I love hearing your thoughts. I too have been trying to live in the moment. But...I am not perfect and some days are better than others.

I came across a great quote that has made me try harder. Or at least it made me think:

"The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.”
-Anna Quindlen

My favorite quote of all time is by Neal A. Maxwell. My Dad gave me this quote when I was a new mother: "You rock a sobbing child without wondering if today's world is passing you by because you know you hold tomorrow tightly in your arms." Neal A. Maxwell

Michelle Butler said...

do you want to borrow any binoculars to see better???? Hope things work out for you.

Mary Perriton said...

Thanks for sharing your deepest feelings. You are beautiful through and through! Just the other day I was trying to capture in memory some moments in past family life. There are so many periods of time that you'd like to just stand still for a bit.You are so wise to try to savor all you can! Isn't the blog a wonderful tool that can hopefully be saved somehow to preserve all the history that's been recorded in word and pictures?!

hydeeann said...

this happens to me, too. our bedtime routine can take between one and two hours, even if we split the kids up between the two of us. but i've learned to slow down and enjoy the time on most nights. getting them to bed on time really helps! keep up the good work. i know we'll cherish these memories someday and be so glad we took the time.