Take a Morning

This morning I was reading someone’s blog about not missing those moments when you get to actually see your children and have fellowship with them. It struck a chord with my heart that I could not ignore for the rest of my day.

I took the big kids to school like normal , and then I drove straight to the beach. I had thrown in a couple towels, swimsuits and some graham crackers so that we could enjoy an hour at the beach before we got on with the day.

I know that I have four loads of laundry to fold, a garden to water, more seeds to get in the ground, and floors that are in desperate need of washing. However, this morning, this was my priority: seeing my two middles play in splash in the lake without a care in the world. We found half of a dead fish, lots of little live fish, and one red shovel that kept them entertained for so long. We got to spot dragonflies together and listen to black birds chirp in the trees. They continually called at the ocean and practice floating on their backs. I had to remind them not to go any deeper than their belly buttons because, of course I forgot their floaties. But none of that matter to them. All they cared about was being with me and enjoying the water.

“Mom! I just saw a dragonfly!”

It’s a good reminder to myself not to miss these moments, not to just take some extra time to let them play and give them some new experiences. It’s easy to get caught up in all of the things. All the things that I need to do, like catch up on laundry, water and weed the gardens, and the million other things on my to do list. With a large family all of those things will never end, but someday they won’t want to go to the lake anymore. Someday they will want to go and hang out with their friends instead or they’ll be moving on to the next phase of their life. I want to enjoy these moments while I can to see them for who they are and enjoy my friendship with them.