It Is WAY Too Easy

With the children in bed I opened my laptop and began again to work on the paper I was writing for my Public Health Administration class.  I had interviewed the county health department’s administrator nearly 2 weeks ago and had yet to finish the paper I had started.  It seems that every time I open it to write I get called away somehow.  Luckily, I had earlier spent time writing freely where I merely typed and typed and typed what I felt about the interview without really looking at my notes.  This served as a great starting place, but even with a great start I couldn’t get past the constant interruptions each time I opened it to continue, and hopefully FINISH.

Tonight was absolutely NO different.  Scott left the children’s rooms and went downstairs to work on Jr High Track stuff.  A short time later my cell phone rang.  It was Scott.  I always chuckle when we have to call each other from up or downstairs.  Cell phones have made us SO lazy!  However, I was amazed at the voice on the other end of the line.  It WASN’T Scott but Cody.  Evidently he had Scott’s cell phone in bed with him and couldn’t go to sleep.  I offered to go lay down with him for a little while and he was happy.  I came to a quick stopping place (once again) and walked down the hall, happy to spend some quality time with my littlest guy!

As I lay in his bed holding him, all I could think about was how easy it is to pass up these times with my children.  With school coming to a close in the next month and papers and assignments looming large in the forefront of my brain, it is way too easy to just get them off to bed quickly so I can get to “my” school stuff before too late.  While holding that precious child of mine I realized how much I miss telling them stories and singing to them each night.  I wondered if they miss it too.  I decided to begin that again on the nights that I AM home.  15 more minutes is not going to break me when it comes to school, but it will kill me if I continue to let those dear and priceless moments pass me (and my children) by.

It is way too easy to let it slip by.  Not one adult with grown children has told me that raising their children went too slowly.  Some may have counted down the time until they were all in school, but mostly I have found that mother’s the world over look back and say it went too fast.  Their advice is to not let it pass me by.  Each time I hear it I make a stronger commitment to NOT let it slip through my fingers, not let my selfish nature take precedence, because before I know it they will all be grown and gone.  It will be then that I will look at my house and wonder where all the clutter is that represented active and lively children having fun within the walls of my home.  I will listen and find only silence where once there was the noise of children playing…and fighting. I am sure I will shed a tear that I once cringed at those sounds, wanting some solitude and alone time to regroup.

So tonight as I have finished my paper, one of many yet to come, I am glad I took the 5-10 short minutes to snuggle with my youngest son!