The Moment

            The sun is peaking in the blinds, and a fresh day has arrived. I hear a plaintive, “Mumma!” from the other room, and I know that my twenty-three month old daughter, Khloe, is awake….well, that is ‘kinda. Khloe is what you would call an extreme cuddle bug. She is not really ready to get up, she is just letting me know that she is now ready to “snuggle” with mumma.

            I am a young mother, with many dreams, big goals, and high ideals. How many times over the last almost two years have I had to stop myself and remember the moment. It would be so easy for me, the idealist, to build huge air castles and then try to force Khloe into living in this ethereal environment, forgetting that she is merely a human dolly, and not a story book angel.

            It is those moments that I remember to stop and enjoy what I know will follow me through the years, from rocking chair to rocking chair, you might say. I will not remember all my high ideals. I will remember those moments….

            ……The moments when I spent enjoying my child. That moment when….I snuggled in bed with my golden haired toddler, though I knew that I had a whole list of things waiting for me to get up and accomplish that day….that moment when I just sat down and rocked her weary body into slumber land, though I really could have been doing some laundry or cleaning….that moment that I scheduled each day to pray with her, though I really could have been finishing up that project….that moment when I just sat down and smiled as I enjoyed a new development either mentally or physically, though there were all those dirty dishes and floors to be cleaned yet that day….that moment when I listened and responded to her not-stop jabber, though she had already told me that exact same thing ten other times….that moment when I sat down and read yet another story book, though I really needed to update that financial ledger….that moment when I just put everything aside and focused on her, enjoying each stage, though everything within me wanted to wish that she was fully mature, completely developed, and filled with great depths of wisdom….the moment that I learned not to cry for the past stage, not to wish for the next stage, but to just enjoy this moment with my child as precious and beautiful.

            My world has been filled with so much joy and fun since Khloe arrived on March 19, 2010. No, I did not forget that she also brought a ton of work, dirty diapers, spills, scrapes, bruises, tears, frustration, and the whole nine yards, but those things just seem to melt away when I am in one of those many moments with my daughter; those moments of such joy, fun, laughter, and fulfillment.

            Now you understand why I LOVE being a Mom!