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JDaniel4s Mom

growing & learning with him

Pause Life for a Moment- Mama Track

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One of the blogs I have fallen in love with this summer is Mama Track. I love the way her words flow and weave together to create pictures. She has a true gift. I went back through her blog to find the post that had first lead me to following her and discovered that I had missed several amazing posts that I need to go back and read. I believe it was Little Things that I first discovered, but it could have been one of many others.

I love the post she is sharing here today. It hit me right between the eyes. Things here have been busy and I have been trying to get a lot done, but a very special someone has been asking for my time. He may not always do that so, I need to built memories now.

Pause Life for a Moment

 

I followed the little boy as he padded, in his frog-covered footed pajamas, out of his bedroom, down the hall and into the family room.
His afternoon nap had left his hair mussed.
He was hoping I would turn on his episode of Dora, the Explorer.
It was a special post-naptime treat for him, 25 minutes of cartoon entertainment.
It was nice for me too—I normally use the time to start dinner or wrap up a project for work or pick up the house. Finish whatever task I wasn’t able to accomplish during his naptime.
Being a work-at-home mom who doesn’t have regular child care requires me to use my time efficiently.
I settled him onto the sofa and turned on the TV. Got him a cup of milk and his favorite oatmeal pretzels, in a snack trap.
As I turned to head toward the kitchen, to start cooking dinner, his sweet, pure voice stopped me.
“Pwease sit down with me, Mama.”
I hesitated, for a second.
A vision of the dinner I needed to cook flashed through my head.
I thought of the dishes piled in the sink.
Of the emails unanswered.
The toys spread across the room.
The washcloths that needed to be carried down to the laundry.
And I realized, in that instant, that none of it really mattered.
It wasn’t important.
If we ate a quick pizza or the dishes languished or my emails waited or the toys sat or the washcloths stagnated, it didn’t matter.
But something, someone in this room did matter. A lot.
Every choice I had made, the reason I was here this afternoon and not at the desk I used to occupy, was because of one person.
This little boy, asking me to sit with him and watch his cartoon.
To share this time with him.
He didn’t understand that I needed, that I had counted on, this 25 minutes to keep the house and my work and our lives running smoothly.
He was just asking his mama, his favorite woman in the world, to stop and be with him.
To pause life for a moment.
“Of course, baby,” I said.
As I sat next to him on the sofa, he snuggled closer.
I put my arm around him.
Felt his body, leaner and taller every day, relax next to mine.
Smoothed his hair down.
Kissed the top of his head.
Breathed in the sweet smell of baby shampoo and whole milk and innocence.
And together, we watched Dora and her friends explore the world.

 

Please stop by Mama Track and let her know how much you loved this.

 

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Comments

  5. Made me tear up and remember when, not so long ago, my now 8 year old used to do the same thing. Our Dora days are now a thing of the past. It does go by so quickly. Thanks for this beautiful reminder to pause and enjoy it.

  6. Oh, this made me cry. What a fantastic reminder to pay attention to what is important. Here’s a poem I think you will like:

    Mother, oh mother, come shake out your cloth!
    Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
    Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
    Sew on a button and make up a bed.
    Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
    She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking!

    Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue
    (Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
    Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
    (Pat- a- cake, darling and peek, peekaboo).

    The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
    And out in the yard and there’s a hullabaloo
    But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
    Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
    (Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

    Oh, cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
    But children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
    So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
    I’m rocking my baby. Babies don’t keep.

    1958 Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

  10. It is hard to say “yes” to the simple requests when we know there are 1 million other things we could be doing! Good for getting in some snuggle time!

  11. Just thinking today how sometimes I am letting too many precious moments like that go by. Thank you so much for sharing! And, yes, after reading this I’ll be visiting her blog.

  12. I have such a lump in my throat right now. Wow. Very touching. Thank you for sharing!

    Kat@Seeking Sanity

  13. I loved this..but you knew I would. I love you, but alas you know that too.
    I have been trying to do this more oftne, to sit in the moments ith the boys , to just “be” with them They are not a distraction from the laundry or the dishes or my life..they are my life…and it’s because of YOU that I am changing the way I feel about it. To slow down and breathe in the sweet smell of my family.

    Loved it!!!!!

  14. As always Mama Track you take a small moment and describe it beautifully. Good for you for letting everything else wait so you could spend time with little man. Enjoy these moments.

  15. this is so hard for me, I know I need to spend time with them, but sometimes I just want PEACE and the ability to GET STUFF DONE! Thank you for sharing this post, it encouraged me to be more intentional about putting my kids first.

  16. I struggle with the same desires to get things done, but when C says “will you sit with me?” I always do. During those snuggles on the couch I get a glimpse of this little-boy side instead of his big-boy one, so I cherish them. Beautiful description.

  17. I’ve had those moments too. Sometimes I make the right decision; sometimes, I kick myself after I screw up my priorities. Your post was lovely, and a good reminder of how precious and fleeting these moments are!

  20. Beautiful! I need to remember to stop everything and be with my kids when they ask me! I get caught up in what needs to be done way to often. Need to turn it around. Thanks for the reminder.

  22. This is a beautiful post and one that really resonates with us all as busy moms. I too often tell my children “not now” and I know I need to take more moments like these b/c they will be gone before I know it.

    Thanks for this lovely reminder!

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