Today begins another week filled with all the activities. Aside from the “normal” work and school routine, we’ve got some softball, we’ve got some late dinners that will take place, and then there is homework, grading, last minute semester plans. Not to mention chores, cleaning, cooking, planning some fun activities for the weekend…
In the middle of all the chaos (as sometimes we affectionately refer to our weeks), there are moments when the kids just want to cuddle up with us. They want a family movie night on a school night, they want a dinner date out when we’ve got meals planned for the week. They want some good quality time together when we all just are exhausted beyond belief.
I saw this image over the weekend and had to share. In the hustle and bustle of day-to-day-life, I have heard “don’t blink,” or “you’ll miss this ______ ” (insert whatever sport or activity here), I long for the days when my kids were little and we’d have weekend sleepovers in mom’s bed…and at some point mom thought she was going to fall out of the bed. I miss the days when they wanted to hold my hand in public. I miss the toddler phase when my purse was a bag filled with sippy cups, snacks, and a change of clothes (just in case).
Just hang tough, Mama.
I get mad at myself for grumbling over long days after work, after softball, after running here and there. I cringe when I think that I may not have had the best attitude about a weekend event, a tournament here and there–gas money, hotel money—and I want to kick myself for being such a poor sport at times.
These things I know: these moments will pass. One day my kids will be away at college, not under my roof. One day they will have families of their own. The time we have now is sometimes short. And I find myself wishing for longer days, longer weekends, and all the road trips and vacations to make all the memories.
I know that there are days my kids think I am nuts. Crazy. Out of my mind. Wrong. Mean. And that’s okay. I hope they know I am only trying to be the best mom, despite the chaos and exhaustion. I hope they know they are loved, by so many, that they always feel the love and warmth of their family.
So, when you feel overwhelmed, worn out, run down, remember this: those little moments of wanting to cuddle, curl up in your bed with you, your husband, and the dog, when they want to lay with you in the recliner, hold your hand in the store, borrow your clothes or shoes because they don’t have a thing to wear, do your hair and makeup, and just simply “be” with you…you do it. The hard days come and go, but the little moments…well, we will end up finding ourselves wishing for them, wanting them, missing them because we’ve let them pass us by.
