Time

You know the old saying, “The days are long, but the years are short?” Yeah, it’s totally true.

Time…there have been books and blog posts written about it, movies made about it, podcasts recorded about it, cards dedicated to it…and yet here we are, talking about it again today.

I’m not sure that I have any aspects that give me qualifications to write about time, other than I’ve seen the passage of it.

This morning, my daughter and I were able to get some time just the two of us. We decided to curl up on the couch and do some reading. We are both avid readers and love the manner in which we can be reading together, but absorbed in our own books.

She is on her third reading of Ruby Holler. I’m told it’s a great book. I can’t seem to get away from my own books to delve into things my kids like to read. I’m in the middle of Flash by Rachel Anne Ridge. It’s a memoir about a donkey named Flash who appeared out of nowhere and turned their lives upside down. It’s quite remarkable.

What took me by complete surprise this morning was my reaction to her chapter on Beau, their lovable Yellow Lab. He was aging and she was discovering that there were many Last Times that were occurring right under her nose.

This got me thinking about the precious soul next to mine. See, she’s nine, soon to be 10. In two short months, she will be in double digits and only eight short years away from 18 and being an ‘adult’ in the eyes of the world. Soon, she will begin middle school. That time of life in which friends become more important than family and my opinion in her life will diminish.

She’s growing up so fast – physically and emotionally. We measured her height the other day as we were leaving CVS. Weirdest thing…as you leave CVS, there is a ruler of sorts, taped between the doors. Hmm… Anyway, she stood next to it and she’s like 5′ tall! Say what?!?!?

Of course her physical changes are nothing compared to the emotional changes taking place within her. She is beginning to understand the world around her in a way I can no longer protect her from. She’s formulating her own opinions and thoughts about how the world operates.

All of this is happening right under my nose and my head is spinning.

See, I had these grandiose plans for parenting. For being the best mom I could be. The mom who has fresh baked cookies for her kids when they get home from school. The mom who NEVER loses her cool about anything. The mom who always wants to play with her kids. The mom who always has all of the laundry done and always puts a nutritious, home-cooked meal on the table every night. The mom who taxis and shuttles her kids from one activity to the other, while singing worship music on the way.

In reality, it looks more like this: they grab a pre-packaged, processed snack from the cabinet when they get home from school…I lose my cool about HOW UNBELIEVABLY SLOW THEY ARE IN THE MORNINGS…sometimes I just don’t want to engage with my kids – yep, there I said it – there are times I would rather zone out on Pinterest, pretending to be the Mom of the Year than engage in activity with my kids…I have loads of laundry sitting around – some that need folded and put away, some that need washed…oh, and about that nutritious, home-cooked meal? Um, last night, Emma and I ate grilled cheese sandwiches and chips – yep, sure did…and do I shuttle and taxi my kids to their activities? Of course I do, but more often than not, I’m trying to find some semblance of peace to maintain my sanity. Sometimes that is in worship music, sometimes, it’s wishing I could play some Metallica without scarring their ears and brains.

This is happening folks…this is real, day-to-day life happening all around us. All the while, I’m scratching my head, whist it is spinning, wondering, when do I have time to do the REAL parenting? You know, teaching them all they need to know to hack it in the real world.

But you see, those lessons ARE being taught. My kids know that I love them by the way I care for them. The way I cook for them, and do their laundry, and help them pick up their rooms, and take them to activities they are interested in. I’m showing them that love equals care. When you love someone, you care for them.

I’m showing them how to roll up your sleeves and dig in and get it done, even when you don’t want to. All of those loads of laundry? Yep, they help too…even though they don’t want to, they know it needs done. Even better, they know when we pitch in and do it as a TEAM, it gets done that much quicker. And then there’s more time for FUN!

The worship music? Yep, it comes when the kids know I’m about to lose my shit over socks that are inside out. THAT’S when I begin singing my praises to Jesus for giving me these two blessings, without which, I wouldn’t have a full laundry basket or a full heart. It’s offering your gratitude, even when you don’t FEEL like it…because you know, you just KNOW deep down, that He is good.

So, this post started out about time…and how time is simply passing us by. We have to grab hold of that minute hand by living in the moment…capturing the scene in our mind.

Recently, I caught someone studying me while I was going about a simple, mundane, everyday task. When I turned to ask what they were doing, their reply was, “making a memory.”

Which leads me to my new favorite song…History in the Making by Darius Rucker. You should check out the YouTube video here. While it is about a couple, I think you could certainly apply the meaning to many situations in life.