These moments are fleeting and often go unnoticed while we are busy living, but are important just the same, maybe even more important than the big events.
Do we ever really stop to think about how amazing our lives are? Sure, life can be hard…it can be downright devastating, but we all have those little moments that deserve to be recognized with gratitude.
Over the past year, I have really had to take stock of what’s important in my life and what isn’t. Not only did this include the material things in my life, but the spiritual and emotional as well.
I have been thinking a lot about a friend of mine who lost her 11 year old son to cancer. Jacob’s amazing spirit reminds me to embrace every moment and let the minor annoyances be just that.
I have thought a lot lately about my daughter’s heart surgery 7 years ago and just how much she has overcome. Her amazing spirit and strength inspires me every day.
I think about my son every day as he struggles to understand his role in our new family. His courage and compassion remind me just how wise he is and how lucky I am to be part of his journey.
So…when I have days like I have had over the last week (busy, stressful, emotional) I remove myself from the chaos and remind myself how extremely grateful I am to have the simple joy of the living the life I have chosen for my path.
When I don’t want to be the one making lunches every morning, I make the lunches because I know that if I didn’t, my kids wouldn’t get their “I love you note” for the day.
When I don’t want to look after other people’s pants, shoes, games, bracelets, lego men, I take a step back and think about what my life would be without them.
When I don’t want to have to work on our budget that seems like it will never be enough, I take a deep breath and know that yes, we have enough. “Enough” is a state of mind.
When I don’t want to have to share my space, my stuff, my everything with anyone, I remind myself that time is slipping away. I snuggle a little longer, I hold on a little tighter and I get teary when my daughter leaves the house wearing my shoes, because now they actually fit.
When it’s 10pm and I hear the giggles drifitng from upstairs, and I really just want to yell up stairs “go to sleep” (and sometimes I do) I often sit at the bottom of the steps and just listen to their laughter so that one day when the house is quiet, I can remember the sound.
When my son comes inside covered in filth and lets me wash his hands and face, and I see that he is growing before my very eyes and he still feels so small, I am grateful to have those little hands in mine.
When my tween daughter comes downstairs dressed totally in her own ”unique” style, I can still see the little girl who at one time looked to me to find her “baby soup” (bathing suit) I hold back tears and am grateful to be able to watch her grow into her own person.
When all I really want to do is sit and be still for a moment and the kids just have to see Venus because the sky is clear, I go, because I know that those memories will stay with them and me as well.
When we are rushed in the morning to make the school bus on time and I find myself yelling to “hurry up”, I stop, take a breath and remember that there will come a day, much too soon, they won’t want me at the school bus.
When my kids climb into my bed in the middle of the night and I struggle to sleep in the foot of space I am left with, I snuggle a little closer and embrace the warm breath that brushes my cheek.
So it’s these little moments that bring me back to what really matters. Our happiness doesn’t lie in more stuff, more money or if my kids look like they just stepped out of a J-Crew magazine.It lies in what our family is built on…grubby little hands that will still hold mine, my shoes, late night laughter and legos.
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