Cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'til tomorrow,
My friend shared this poem on her blog, and I love it so much that I just had to share with all my friends and family. The picture of Clara is when she was about 10 minutes old, and now I can't believe she is already almost 5 months! It has gone so fast, and she has changed so much. I love every new stage she's in, but I mourn a little bit when she leaves a stage because it means she's growing up. It's already a little hard for me to remember how little she was at birth.
The picture of Noah is when he was about 2 years old. That's the youngest picture of him that I have on my computer. I can't believe how big he is now! He was such a tiny thing at birth- 4 lb. 13 oz. and only 17 in. long- and in the blink of an eye he's gone from that tiny baby to a little boy. He'll be 4 in September! Before I know it he'll be starting kindergarten. I remember I could hold Noah like a football in one arm because he was so small. I love going back to my scrapbooks of him and remembering all those sweet memories of my tiny baby.
Lately, for some reason, I have gained a bigger appreciation and gratitude for being a mother. Words can't express the feelings of gratitude in my heart that the Lord has blessed me to be the mother of two beautiful children. I love them so much it hurts! The time I have with them while they're young is so short, and, therefore, so crucial. I have one chance to love them, play with them, teach them, and enjoy them. I can't afford not to get it right. We were reminded of this in Elder Ballard's wonderful talk on mothers in general conference (wasn't that wonderful! I felt like it was for me specifically, as I'm sure many mothers felt). It's fun to watch them grow, learn and develop, but it's sad too. I have resolved to cherish each moment I have with my kids while they're young because they won't be young forever. In moments of frustration and stress where I want to yell at Noah or I'm tired of holding a fussy baby, I hope I can remember this unfortunate truth- that babies don't keep. Remembering that, I think, will help me be more patient and loving in situations where I otherwise would not be. There will always be dishes to clean, clothes to wash, floors to vacuum, and toilets to scrub, but there won't always be babies to kiss or rock to sleep. I won't always have my little boy to tickle, go bug hunting with, or read stories to. Those precious moments will be gone before I know it, so I'd better take advantage of them while I can. We don't remember days- we remember moments.
3 comments:
Okay, I just blogged, and now I feel like a huge, whiny, horrible mom after reading your blog. No, I have been thinking the same thing, especially after this experience (that I wrote about in my blog), cause we were supposed to let our in-laws watch our kids while we go off for our anniversary, and now I'm not so sure I want to leave them in someone else's care for that long! No one can love your kids the way that you can. Plus, I figure they'll be gone someday soon, and Ty and I will have nothing better to do than be alone together. They ARE so precious, and they DO grow up soooo fast (cliche, I know, but true)!
I loved Elder Ballard's talk too. It made us mothers feel remembered and gave me hope and courage. Cuddle and smooch those babies while they'll let you because when they get to be my older boys' ages they won't want you to. I still try, but they don't seem to like it so much.
I totally agree! I love the poem, and the pictures of your cute kids. Ditto - I am glad that we have had this fun time to live next-door to each other. It has been so nice to have another mom and especially a best friend to talk to so often. Thanks for the post!
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