I learned a hard lesson yesterday about "loving my children." My husband's parents were coming over so I spent much of the morning tidying everything, sweeping, dusting, etc. I let my oldest daughter have a baby wipe to help me clean with. :)
After many trials and frustrations with both the house and the children acting up, when nap rolled around I was good and ready for some serious quiet time! I read my daughter her book and tucked her in when she looked at me sweetly and asked me to lay down with her, which is something I never normally do. For some reason, my heart already wanted to and I almost did, but I told her I was going to go downstairs and wait for Grandma and Grandpa.
I went downstairs and went about my tasks: mopping the floor, making yogurt and so on. These were all good things I needed to do, but within half an hour I realized how much I wanted to spend some time near my 3 year old "baby" girl. I wanted her to smile and snuggle close to me as we rested. But by the time I made it upstairs, she was already sound asleep (see picture above) and my heart broke. I had missed my opportunity for some wonderful bonding time.
I realized that this is a good example for a fact of life: you have opportunities with your children that won't always be there. They will grow up (very quickly) and time won't stand still for you to be ready to love and pour into your children. You have to take the opportunities when they come, for whatever season you are in. Someday the season will change and you won't have those same opportunities the lay a solid foundation again.
I lost my chance to rest with my little girl today and my heartaches over it. If you feel a tug in your heart to do something out of the ordinary with your children, I encourage you to follow it! The house may be a little bit messier, the yogurt may get made 2 hours later, but come on... aren't our children worth it?
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