Live in the Moment...Take Off That Cape!

         

     I love seeing the world through my baby girl’s tiny hands. She is 9 ½ months old and her hands are about the size of silver dollars. Her fingers are itty bitty and always grasping. She loves to visually explore her surroundings and touch everything she sees. On days that I am wise enough to slow down and explore with her, I receive the gift of seeing the world through her unadulterated, awestruck eyes and her tiny but strong hands. Too often I rush through my days. If you asked me what happened last week, I will most likely struggle to recall it because it passed by in such a blur. Part of that is because I am a new, first time mom, to 9 ½ month old twins; part of that is because I can be too concerned with tomorrow. Tomorrow’s to do list, tomorrow’s dinner, tomorrow, tomorrow.

But what about today? What am I missing today by living in tomorrow? That adorable babble I heard from my son, I may never hear it again. The excited, full body squirmies my daughter got today…will I see that tomorrow? I strive daily to teach my children but I am finding that my infant twins are teaching me far more. Time is so precious. I want to live each day in the present, fully present.

One of my greatest enemies is technology; the second is a woman’s keen ability to multitask. There is the television, iPad, iPhone, computer, and kindle; so many things to steal my attention. And then there is multitasking. While trying to play with my kids I often find myself trying to cook, or look up a recipe, or upload photos of how cute my kids are to a social networking site. Oh, and then there are the household tasks like vacuuming and dusting, etc. All the while trying to be a part of my children’s world.

Sometimes you just have to come to a point where you let go. Let go of your to-do list. Let go of your notion that you have to be super mom and Martha Stewart. You will constantly be down on yourself if you don’t, and you and your family will suffer the consequences. So many websites, television programs, magazines, blogs and books tell you what you need to do to be a “good mom” or they show you how perfect Sally Sue is. And to be honest, sometimes those things make me feel inferior. They make me look at my friend Sally Sue, who is sewing her kids clothes and growing all their vegetables and using cloth diapers and saving the universe…and I feel envious, and less than, and I begin to question my own mothering abilities. And then I start to chastise myself about how I could do a better job and what can I do to be more like her? But it isn’t Sally Sue’s fault. She just happens to post all of her (and her miracle super child’s accomplishments) on face.book.

          What it really comes down to is who are you letting define motherhood for you? So today, I challenge you and myself to take off our Super Mom cape, lay down our Martha Stewart apron and just spend time drinking in the miracle that is our children. Watch their facial expressions as they play. Ask them questions and listen to their answers (even if it is just babbling), and respond. Ask them what they would like to do today, and try to accommodate it. Attempt to see the wonder through which they see every day. Order a pizza if you have to, wear swimsuit bottoms if you don’t have any clean underwear, put socks on and slide around on the hard floors if they are dirty and covered in dog hair and a little drool (as mine are) and you just may clean them up in the process!

          But really, enjoy this day. We are never promised tomorrow. If you really want to live on the edge, eat dessert first tonight! (It will blow your families mind).

You are a good mom. You love your kids. You sacrifice daily for them, sometimes moment by moment.

Slow down and enjoy the fruits of your labor and love on a daily basis and you will start to see life as a Mama on the Bright Side.