Today, like many days was filled with moments of routine, monotony and needs. With our rainy weather, which is desperately needed and loved by me, but not so much by my energetic boys who have a insatiable desire to move, the house can become quite chaotic quite quickly.
Balance
As a work from home mama who educates my boys from home as well, I have found we thrive on routine. I have had to work diligently to create a consistent routine that offers enough structure to nurture success, but not so much structure that my boys are unable to explore their passions or follow a whim thought process in their play and exploration. Finding the needed balance can often be a challenge and is a process that can look different from day to day.
Seeking
That however isn’t my biggest struggle. My largest and notably most important piece of our daily process, is to remember that the mundane moments are the moments where character, trust, understanding and relationships are built. While I am not always successful at it, I attempt to remember that in the eyes of my children, how I react to there seemingly endless requests to, “watch this,” ” mommy “look at me,” “mommy can I have/do” “mommy will you?” are their way of confirming my reliability, dependability and exampling to them where they fit in my list of priorities.
Connection
On the days when I am overwhelmed and momentarily frustrated by what seems based on my adult perspective as pointless, repetitive interactions, that serve as mere pestering and distractions, I find myself eventually remembering that those moments, in the big picture are both fleeting and life shaping.
Follow Their Lead
Author Catherine M. Wallace, put it best when in 2001, she said, “
Listen earnestly to anything your children want to tell you, no matter what. If you don’t listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won’t tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of it has always been big stuff. “
Read It Again
After recently finding this quote and realizing how true and applicable it is, I have made a promise to my boys and myself, to see their need for attention, explanation, and heartfelt response, even if it is redundant. Even if it distracts me from accomplishing my endless, ever so important to-do list, as an opportunity and a gift.
Now, don’t get me wrong, my boys have always been on the receiving end of my attention. They are with me daily. We spend hours together, playing, learning, exploring, growing and mostly having fun. However, my attention can be divided among various activities and tasks and honestly even between the two of them.
Presence
While it is reasonable for me to give myself the time needed to accomplish the things that must be done to run a household, tend to the boys’ essential needs and maybe even have a little time for myself and my own relationships, it is also reasonable that at the ages of 7 and and 3 my boys crave attention. They are curious and adventuresome. They are excited about their personal accomplishments, discoveries and life in general. They are excited and invested in discovery and they want me to be excited and invested with them and for them.
Opportunity
And that is exactly as it should be. That is my job and my blessing. I owe them the chance to be enthusiastic and amazed by, well…everything. I was once like that too. One can only hope we all had that opportunity. I am blessed to experience the innocence and awe that only children can express. For the truth is, far too soon, largely based on the interaction and feedback or lack there of, that they receive from people closest to them, those that they admire and love, they may begin to lose their enthusiasm, awe and wonder over the small moments in life.
Wisdom in Awe
May we remember the wonder of wonder and the thrill of awe, in the ever fleeting moments.
