My hubby bought my son a brand spankin’ new fresh from some drugstore (cheap alert) long desired and passionately awaited…. alarm clock for my six-year old son. Needless to say, my son was thrilled with and filled with that precious and peculiar excitement, wanting to bask in the glory of the treasure that now shines its red numbers and roars with a siren that drenches the air with a debilitating, pulsating, high-pitched scream. (When set to a nice early morning time…) He loves to watch the numbers go by…and loves to (makes me) share in the staring of each minute that turns. I am antsy, impatient, and restless with this new activity he so loves to pursue. I think of one hundred things I’d rather be doing and need to get done, as he begs me to watch…the minutes slowly, agonizingly pass by.
“LOOK HOW FAST IT GOES MOMMY!!! Daddy bought me a fast clock!!!”
I shrugged it off with a chuckle and a sigh…
“Oh yes- so fast. Now I have things to do…you go ahead and watch the clock all you want.”
“NO! You HAVE to watch it with me! You have to wait for the alarm to go…I set the time!!!”
AAHHHHH! I grab the clock, and find the alarm setting and push down the button, as the minutes fly forward to make the alarm go off that very second… BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP…. (Radiating radar released.)
“There! WOW! That’s amazing. NOW, I will go get things done! Geez.”
I walk away perturbed, calculating just how much time passed, that I lost by engaging in this boring, tedious, mundane task. Time I wasted.
Then it hit me…
How dare I push forward time, so delicate and fragile…dismissing it like an irritating inconvenience. Was it not just yesterday when I slept with the weight of his 7 pounds warming my chest? Wasn’t I just nursing this freshly created bundle in my arms last week? I swear I JUST watched him toddle for the first time down the hallway into my arms. Where did my baby go?
Realization. Conviction. Longing…
To turn back time.
Yes, dear son, the clock really does go so fast.
Chris — no words could ever be truer! I think sometimes when we (mothers) think how a situation involving our children is taking us away from something “important” that we need to remember the message here!
EXACTLY! So many times I miss completely or shrug off something that would have been treasured time with my children… how dare I do that!!!! I will regret it in the end…
Thanks for the wonderful reminder to treasure every moment that God gives us with our children. I’m oh so guilty of letting my “to-do-list” get in the way of spending valuable time with the kids. I think as moms it’s so hard to find the right balance between getting things done & spending time with the kids (definitely my kid’s love language). I do praise God every day fhough for the blessing of being able to be home with my little angels every day! They are truly a blessing straight from God! — OH, that little 7lbs sleeping on your chest is such an incredible gift from God to moms!
Oh so happy you took the time out of your BUSY mom life to read me! Amazing, how I long for those baby treasured moments….and you get to have them STILL!!! I sooo miss having a baby sleeping on my chest… but I can still bundle Cade up on my lap and cradle him in my arms! (Thank God)
We must do our best to not let those moments feel like inconveniences to our schedule!!! You won’t remember what needed ‘done’ that day but you will remember Cade’s excitement about that clock when it gets thrown in a box for goodwill or for him to take to college someday in the not so distant future! Such a delicate balance to find and unfortunately most of us do not slow our minds enough to just truly enjoy the young years with our children. They are over in a blink of an eye. Here’s to hoping your wonderful words inspire mothers to slow down and take it in!!!
So BEAUTIFULLY said, dear sis. Thank you for writing those words of both wisdom and encouragement!!!! I believe you are much better at embracing your children’s “moments” than I am. You really get it. 🙂
Thanks for the reminder! 🙂 Ok, are you happy now, I left you a comment.
Seriously, I do enjoy your blog!
OH YOU ROCK!!!!! Thank you sooo much for commenting!!!!!!!! And sooo glad you enjoy my blog, means so much to me. 🙂
Great post and so very true. I think I said in a blog post once a while back that as mothers we wish the time away and then cry when we can’t get back it again. Hopefully you and your sweet boy can spend some more days watching the clock together, soaking up the minutes, marveling at how speedy his new clock runs! 🙂
Yes…to treasure these days, right? I need to remind myself that every day! It gets so blurry sometimes!
Where did my little kids go? I want them back;I want you Chrissy. Can’t I have you back. . .for one day?
Coming mommy!!!!! 🙂