The Case FOR The Little Old Lady

The case FOR the little old lady.


  I prayed a lot before writing this blog post, and I wrote it mainly for myself but also for my young Mommy friends who sometimes just find it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

   Being a parent at all is mildly put 'challenging.' Anybody who does not agree  is either lying or not a parent. Being a full time Mum makes me physically tired. The only time of the day I can halfway relax is when my sweet babies sleep.  I say halfway because even though I may not be doing some heavy physical labor  my nerves are on end ready to jump at the first sign of a baby crying,  or of them stirring or of some random noise happening that would wake them up.

   I'm never truly off the hook.

   You may come over and visit with me and I'll sit down and talk with you for an hour getting up only every few minutes to kiss a booboo or discipline a misbehaving toddler, but the truth is, is that while I am sitting there talking to you I am still at work, I'm still on call and every gene in my body is in tune for my children's needs.
    I wish sometimes I could relax, maybe even have visions of those long but not forgotten days when I could go to a quiet home after a 8hr day at the office, soak in a giant lavender smelling  hot bubble bath, then lay on the couch eating potato chips while dozing off to sleep just from being so relaxed. The truth is there is not a job out there (that I know of, you may know of one) that is so continual.
      What makes it so exhausting is that it's not only the physical part but also the emotional. I don't love anybody more than my God and my husband, but besides that my little ones have every bit stolen my heart. I could not be more emotionally involved, which simply put- is emotionally exhausting!
    The responsibility of guiding my child into adulthood with a clean heart, a clear mind, a sweet attitude, and a Godly testimony weighs heavy on my heart. Nothing else out there will impact the personality and character of another humans life like a parent will, whether it be through care or through neglect.
    It's my pride and joy to have perfect kids, a clean house, wrinkle free clothes and neatly shaped eyebrows. Unfortunately a lot of times I have normal kids that STILL need disciplining, a house that has mountains of dirty laundry, sometimes clean ones but always wrinkled and needing another round in the dryer - yes, I use my dryer as an iron. And my eyebrows tend to get bushy and looking more like a forehead beard than eyebrows.
  But that is ok because at the end of life's day, when I am old and wrinkled laying in a hospital type bed next to my Nubun, we will be holding hands and reminiscing the good ole days. The days when we were needed, the days when we couldn't sleep well because a baby was crying, a toddler was scared of thunder and needed cuddling, the nights when it'd take an hour and a half just to put the girls to sleep because they wanted us to read to them just ONE MORE BOOK, sing to them 'Sunbeam' just one more time (for the 5th time), and let's pray again because you forgot to hold MY hand. The days when whining was at its highest, tears were in abundance, and they just HAD to be held and you could NOT put them down. The times when we would just stand there in the living room looking at each other wondering in frustration what to do next.
  We will remember watching them run down the hall with little short legs moving faster then the eye, when they would manage to get more bath water on the floor than in the bathtub, they'd turn the cars atmosphere 10 decimals louder then the local circus, and when they'd whine and plea for us to play 'ring around the rosie' with them for the 15th time that night.
   It's the hard times that makes us humble, the trials that teach us patience, the many prayers lifted up during the rough patches that teach us wisdom, and just the details of life that makes up the best of memories.
It's important to enjoy this time WHILE it is going on. Because although memories are great, moments are even better.
"It IS hard, and some days you'd rather forget, but if you never get to enjoy your kids, you need to relax...I really want more from what I'm doing and the time I spend with my kids than the satisfaction of 'having done it' someday when they are grown and gone. ...speaking of those moments, today within the span of a minute I said the following: 'Don't spit on the floor,' and 'Don't bite my butt.' It can be humorous if you have the right attitude." -my friend Susan Taylor. Maybe a good attitude, a littler relaxation and some good old fashion prayer will help keep focus on the beauty on now.
   When the little old lady in the Wal Mart check out line tells you to "treasure every moment with them" it's not because she has forgotten how hard it is to be a Mother of young kids, it's because she knows how short that time is and how precious those moments fly by. And because she can look back and remember those years as the best of her life.  She KNOWS! Listen to her! They say wisdom comes with time, she's had more time than you.
   Now I do know that there are some people that would need three lifetimes to qualify for an opinion but on the most part your elders have been there done that and can tell you a piece or two about wisdom. Yes, their memories are fading, but what remains of it is really what matters. Yes they don't remember everything, like how exhausted a young Mother can get, and how children can invent 12 different ways to stress you out in only 43 seconds.
But they have already gone through it and know that at the end,  it truly IS the hard times that you'll miss.
  I'm not saying to feel guilty because you are looking forward to nap time, counting down the minutes till bed time, and dreaming of the day you'll have vacation time, I'd be a hypocrite if I said that. I am just saying that when you are emotionally drained, physically exhausted, and 2 seconds away from a puddle of tears just remember the wisdom of that little old lady.  And pray through your frustration, pray that you will be aware of the good ole times as they are happening, that you'll be thankful for your blessings while you still have them.

    And yes, that you will ENJOY, treasure and cherish this fleeting moment in your life.
Hug your babies, love on them NOW while they still think you are superwoman. Embrace theses moments and thank God for them.