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No More "Just a Minute"
On Sunday, at the end of a particularly long and busy week, filled with several very late nights, I had finally gotten our very busy one-year-old daughter to bed and my husband had finally gotten our five-year-old son to bed. We both breathed a sigh of relief.
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This crazy week had finally passed! We were watching the much awaited season premier of our favorite show and, during a commercial break, I went in to check on my son, tuck him in tight, and give him his extra good night kiss and hug. There were about 15 minutes left of the show and, of course, it was the most suspenseful part. I thought I could get the good night ritual done while the commercials were on and I wouldn't miss the ending. I knew that once the show was over, I would have my usual before bed pickup to do around the house - there was laundry waiting in the dryer to be folded, a Spiderman lunchbox to be filled before the morning rush to get to school, clean dishes waiting in the dishwasher to be put away, and a few stray toys laying around the living room floor waiting to be gathered and put in the toy basket.
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I went in and gave him his extra good night kiss and hug and turned on his night light to scare away any stray monsters that might be lingering in the corners. He asked me to snuggle with him and I told him I would be back in just a minute, thinking that he would be asleep shortly. That's when he said "you always say just a minute." It brought tears to my eyes when I realized he was right.
Needless to say, the show and the chores were quickly forgotten!!
As I snuggled with my son, running my fingers through his hair and singing his favorite night time songs with him as he drifted off to sleep, so many thoughts were running through my mind. The most important of these was this… time flies by so quickly - every moment you can spend with them is SO precious!
It's so easy to slip into the "just a minute" mode, but it's also just as easy to slip into the "right now" mode!
The "right now's" are for loving on and spending time with the most important things in your life - your family - the time passes so quickly! Save the "just a minute's" for the less important things like the housework. There will always be more dust bunnies to round up / clothes to be folded / floors to be swept / dishes to be washed - those things aren't going anywhere and they will be there in 15 minutes or so after I take care of the important things! My son is only going to be five for just a short period of time - sometime around the middle of next month (or so it will seem, I'm sure!) he will be graduating from college and starting his own life and family. I do not want my children to remember me as being someone who was always telling them that I had to do something more important (like the dishes?!) and that they could have my full attention in "just a minute"! I want them to always think of their mom as being a special part of their lives, someone who was always there for them "right now" when they needed to snuggle and share the precious and wonderful stories about their day!
© All Baby 'n Kids
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