The following post is written by Steady Mom's monthly contributor, Catherine.
There was stuff everywhere.
After having 11 people in our house for a week I had work to do.
I'd also been sick with the stomach flu, and the everyday picking up
of our house had been neglected.
It was a “get stuff done” type of day.
Then my two-year-old came up and said, “Read to me
mommy." There he stood with
his big blue eyes, holding a book. My heart melted.
He has no clue all the
work I have to do. He has no idea how sick I've been the
past few days and how I pray none of my kids get the flu. He just wants a book
read to him.
When I looked at him it took me right back to the photo above
and how toward the end of my mom’s battle with breast cancer the most she
could do was read to my two-year-old.
She would say, “Grandma can’t get down on the floor and play but I can read to you.” She loved it--it's a fond
memory I have of her as a grandmother.
So I stop what I'm doing and sit on the cluttered floor. My son doesn’t have much of
an attention span yet, but he loves to sit and turn the pages.
Snuggling with a little one while engaged in a book
is the best. The time will
come way too soon when the kids won’t be able to sit in my lap and read.
I have to remember that this phase of
life only lasts a short time.
Today my son reminded me of how significant that one-on-one time is. By putting him first, I showed him that his needs and feelings matter. Sending him that message was more important than getting the house tidy.
This can be hard for those of us with “type-A” personalities, but at
the end of the day it is our family that is the priority.
Not how clean our house is, not if we are the most organized person on the block, or that our to-do list is the
shortest.
It is time with family
and creating memories to build a positive foundation for our children that
matters more than anything else. Catherine is a mother of three children who finds strength in
simple ideas, inspiring others, and keeping things in perspective. She blogs at The Shoe Box Daily, where you can get tips and
ideas for thriving in the midst of life's challenges.
