My (older) baby girl had her 4th birthday party last weekend. As most moms often say, “where the heck did the time go??” The night of her party was “Super Moon Saturday” and while the pictures I saw being posted online were pretty cool, the moon I checked out before dropping dead in my bed was not that unusual- super full and super bright. Cool, but, ehh.
That night I was mostly interested in myself. (Oops- wait, did I really say that) I stared at myself in the mirror while brushing a year worth of cupcake sugar off my teeth, and tried to remember what my life was like before being a mom. I couldn’t. I really couldn’t. I only remember being a lot thinner and able to jump on a trampoline for more than 30 seconds without being totally out of breath and worried I would leak my pants. (Oops- wait, did I really say that?) What have I become in these four short years? I’m definitely proud of some things I’ve done, and I wouldn’t exchange being a mother to these precious angels for anything, but I also took that special little “me” moment to assess how I’ve done so far as a mother. If these first four years passed so quickly, I’m sure the next 16 will pass even quicker. Am I on the right track to making the best of it all- especially for my kiddos?
The next day I ironically I found this great little article about “what 4-year olds should know” from Peaceful Parenting/DrMomma. Besides the actual little checklist thing the article links to, the article points out how important it is to just be THERE for your kids. They don’t need all the fluff- sports, ballet, play dates, etc. They just need US! (I can do that!!!) They also point out that reading to your little ones is the best thing you can do to prepare them for school and for high academic achievement. Just read to them! We have SOOO many children’s books and the girls love it when I read to them. I’m sure I could do it more often, though. Okay, I can do that!!! This made me feel a little better about things.
You don’t have to be Supermom to be a superb mom. Just love them more than anyone else could ever love them– I can totally do that. Sure, I get caught up in the mom games sometimes (like the incessant laundry, dishes, animal accidents and exploding diapers…anyone else???), but sometimes the big effort I need to be making is in my children- just spending time with them and enjoying the organic journey of discovering my unique gifts as a parent. It becomes so easy to take this gift of being a mother/parent for granted.
Dear Lord,
Please don’t let me blink my eyes and see my baby girl turning 16. Let me savor this gift of life and time you’ve given to me as a mother. Help me see how You would have me spend my time.
Amen.