In the Moment

I’m trying to become one of those moms who is always in the moment, right there, taking in the joy, the fun of each day.

That said, I have to admit that sometimes it’s hard to be in the moment of watching the girls swing outside (because they don’t like to be out in the backyard alone even though it’s very private) when there is laundry to be folded, a dishwasher to be emptied, etc.

The thing is, there is always going to be something that needs to be done. There are closets that need organized, and a playroom that desperately needs cleaned. There is a pantry that needs decluttered and several junk drawers that should be reassigned as something useful. There’s that car that filthy both inside and out (what IS that funky smell?)

And yet, this past weekend we went to the beach, went grocery shopping where Olivia got a Barbie coloring book for $1 and some new crayons for fifty cents. After I put the groceries away, she and I sat down and colored for a half hour before she got bored and went to find something else to do.

We also went to see Brave. We met a friend of Alyssa’s from school and that meant that of all the five times that Olivia had to get up and use the restroom, Alyssa never once had to get exasperated about missing the movie. Her friend and the friend’s mom were sitting with us and so A was able to stay with them.

I was glad to be able to be in the moment while at the theater, patient with each bathroom trip, knowing how lucky we are that O can tell me when she had to pee and hey, as far as Olivia was concerned, Brave was boring. I liked it well enough but unless it’s a movie starring Barbie, O’s just really not all that interested.

And while the car didn’t get cleaned and the closets didn’t get organized, the laundry got washed, dried, folded and yes, even put away, the floor were vacuumed, the fish and cat were fed ( as were the children, several times even.)

All this happened between moments of being there, of sitting with Alyssa and listening to her read a Junie B. Jones book aloud, coloring with Olivia, letting her pick out crayons and tell me what to color and when. The girls went outside with me while I hung towels on the line and they swung or chased Orville or just played in the damp towels.

We were all in the moment and I feel so very lucky to have these moments in which I bask in the beauty of my sweet girls.