Enjoying the Moment

Yesterday was Kaily's 4th birthday and she is sick. We kept her home from school and just did a movie marathon with her all day. For her birthday we gave her The Little Mermaid videos, all three of them. She just wanted to snuggle with me and so I let her. I'm ashamed to say that it's been a while since I've just sat and cuddled Kaily on my lap. I had forgotten how much I enjoy it. Clint made her a good lunch and we had a tea party with her new tea set while we watched the movies. I could tell how much it meant to her and I realized that even though she received all these things for her birthday the one thing she wanted more than any of it, the one thing she will remember is that Mom spent all day just being with her. I feel bad that it took her getting sick for me to remember. That's why I like this quote for today. I think it sums it all up for me.

"What can . . . young mother[s] [do] . . . to reduce the pressure [of raising young children] and enjoy [their families] more? . . . "Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction. "Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: 'The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less' (Loud and Clear [1004], 10-11)." ~M. Russell Ballard~