Today I sat on the porch reading a book and sipping a cool beverage. In The Middle Of The Afternoon! The kids are all recovering from our long road trip and were resting. There were dishes to be done, dinner to be prepped, emails to write, but it all waited. I basked in the quiet sunshine.
Then...
I sat outside while the boys entertained themselves in the kiddie pool for almost one hour. Silas did poop in the grass, but nothing was taking away the good feeling from this girl.
Then...
I made a nutritious and very delicious (if I do say so myself) dinner. And if I had any lipstick I may have put it on before my husband came home. I felt that good by the time dinner rolled around.
The kids went to bed amazingly. And now I sit reflecting on the glorious day we had and two things come to mind.
First, it felt so good to be completely present in my day. I didn't worry about cleaning or the other millions of things that can so easily consume my mind. After studying Ecclesiastes at the Table, I was mindful of enjoying life (Ecclesiastes 3:13-14) today. It is truly a gift from God. All things apart from Him are meaningless. He gave me today and I fully enjoyed it. I rarely do that...normally I just get through to the end of the day when I can collapse on the couch before dragging myself to bed.
Second, I feel that in this season of motherhood I am learning when to push and when to let go. I had grand plans for us today. Berry picking, making jam, maybe walking to the splash park. The kids woke up and just wanted to be home. They literally just hung out and and when I tried to get them going they resisted. I wanted to push them. I wanted blueberries. I tried to compromise with a nature walk to go buy berries instead and they just shrugged and said, "maybe later." It was at that point, I decided to let go of my agenda and as I did something in me released too. Instead of DO and GO, my children forced me to BE. And it was more wonderful and restful than I could have ever planned. I read a novel in the middle of the afternoon for goodness sake.
There are some days when I will need to push them. There are things that need to be done. But sometimes the best thing to do is sit back and enjoy this day. This moment.
My heart is full of gratitude.
