I can’t believe it’s 2012 already! Before I had children, the years seemed to lumber along. Now? Whoosh! It seems like I close my eyes on New Year’s Day and when I open them, my kids are screaming that Santa came.
It’s important that as the days fly by, we make a point of stopping to smell the roses with our children from time to time. I know, I know. It sounds great on paper, but when the daily grind keeps grinding away, it’s a little more challenging. Okay. A lot more challenging. But that doesn’t make it any less necessary, for your children or you.
Think about it. 15 years from now, when you’re moving your youngest into his dorm room, are you going to look back and wish that you’d spent more time at work or cleaning the attic when he was young? No way. And, so much happens every year, that if you don’t intentionally stop to look at it from this perspective, you might be moving that last box in while wondering where the time went and regretting missed opportunities.
I’m as guilty as any other parent when it comes to focusing on the cooking, cleaning and working. And, at the end of more days than I can bear to admit, I find myself realizing that I didn’t spend more than a few minutes actually playing and hanging out with my sons. Frankly, days like these leave me feeling sad and wishing that I’d taken the time to play, rather than making sure that every last dish in the sink was clean or spending half an hour straightening out dresser drawers…again.
So, this year, I’m going to focus more on enjoying my family and less on the little things that can be done less often. I’m making a point of taking more pictures and playing more boardgames. I’m spending less time being the perfect PTA parent and more on being the mom that my kids deserve at home.
I didn’t have children just because I wanted to pass on my husband’s surname or contribute to the population. I had them because I wanted to experience motherhood and all the beautiful, silly, messy, wondrous and totally unexpected, crazy things that came with it. I can’t pause time, and my boys will continue to grow whether I seize the day or not. This year I’m going to say no to the trivial things and yes to my children, because I don’t want to miss a thing.
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