Like most parents, probably, I often rush around trying to do "just one more thing," and find myself reminding the kids to do the same. But as my boys grow up, I realize that there's a certain amount of time I have to get things done in a day, and then there's a certain amount of time I have left before they will be off to college and out of the house. In all of my going out and coming home and trying to get everything done, I want to pay attention to things I love about being their mom.
Boys, quickly,
take out the trash before the garbage truck comes
while there is time
Add your jeans to the load of laundry I’ve just started,
while there is time
Let me quiz you on Spanish pronouns before school,
while there is time
While there is time,
Talk to me in the car about what you did at school
While there is time,
Sit and read with me by the fire
While there is time,
let me put my arms around you
and rest my chin on the top of your head
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Sarah,
ReplyDeleteyou capture exactly the feelings of parents driven along on the rushing current of time as their kids grow up, longing to slow it down and savor more and reflect more in the moment.
There are experiences and events we rerun in our minds and wish we could re-live again and wish we had paused longer to reflect and savor. DGK
Tear-jerker...existential truths. Mothering is a constant battle for me between my temperamental drive to look forward & accomplish and the pressure to be in-the-moment with little ones, to live in the "immediacy of experience" that is their cognitive reality. Sometimes I'll distance myself a moment and realize that this messy process, this messy house that I'm always trying to tame or escape is what I'll look back on later as the sweetest pleasure.
ReplyDeleteWell done Sarah. Love what you're doing here. Go word smith go!
ReplyDelete*tears*! I am reading this, while my student-teacher facilitates the classroom during summer school (yes, I'm catching up on missed blog posts). I had to fight the tears back, before my students saw me! I'm not afraid of tears, but your writing evokes emotions I forgot were there! Thanks for sharing, Sarah!
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