I have a night to myself and I hardly know what to do with it.
All day long, I’ve put off doing some things with the thought of, “well…I can do that tonight after the kids are in bed…”
In my head I had another long list of things that I wanted to do with this time.
But now, I find myself in a quiet house, pondering the lack of time.
There never is enough, is there?
By the time I got all four of my children into bed and the house tidied up, it’s after 8 o’clock and I’m looking at a bedtime for myself of 9 or 10 to start an early day tomorrow.
Instead of checking things off of my much too long to-do list, I find myself reflecting on the day.
Today was a good, full day in our home.
I caught myself looking at each of my children at different times throughout today admiring the little people that they are becoming.
EA is such a sweet helper. Throughout the day, she will say to me, “Mommy, what can I do to help you?” And help she does! She dotes on Jenny like the big sister that she is. She is excited about learning and she soaks up every single minute of her home education.
MC is maturing so much with each passing moment. She is so much like me that it truly scares me at times. I look into her eyes and I see myself. Her spirit is becoming more humble. I can see this in the way that she gently asks for permission to do things. She asks with consideration rather than with an attitude of deserving whatever it is she is asking for.
Will is at such a hard age. Three. Difficult three. He’s not a baby anymore, but he’s not really a mature little boy yet either. He’s at such an in-between age. My heart goes out to him so often. He’s the only boy sandwiched in between twin sisters and the baby girl. He is growing up, though. Tonight I peeked in on him as he was completing a chore for me and I was mesmerized by the changes I see happening in him.
And Jenny. She really is such a sweet baby! She is rolling all over the place now. In just a month or so she will be crawling and I think my whole world will be turned upside down. She is busy and so very happy! She loves playing with her various toys but nothing delights her more than grasping onto something that she knows she’s not really supposed to have. Tonight I let her hold a remote and her eyes just lit up with joy!
We didn’t do anything special today.
It was pretty much a normal, routine day.
But all the same today is a day that I want to treasure.
I want to remember sneaking glances at each of my precious children and getting a glimpse into the people that they are becoming.
Sometimes I wish that God created us with little digital cameras within our eyes. I want to capture the moments that are too personal, too fleeting to be captured in any other way than the way that my eyes see them in a split second of time.
Tonight, I am thankful that I have been blessed to be a mother.
It truly is a blessing and a privilege like no other.
Ann Marie @Household6diva says
Thank you for sharing these sweet moments you captured with your eyes and shared through your words! All too often the world gets caught up in the list of things to do, places we need to go, chores to be completed… but you are right – life is what happens when we are busy making plans!!
You are doing a wonderful job of stepping back from that chaos to savor and enjoy your family — Thank you for reminding all of us to do the same!!
David says
A night to myself is a great concept — and one that husbands and wives should work to give each other as a gift