One Bottle at a Time: Lemon Creek Part III

Sorry about the lack of wine reviewing - I don't like to open another bottle of wine before I've completed one that is already started. So, tonight I'm enjoying yet another glass of the Lemon Creek Silver Beach Sauterne. And it's still good.

Today during my lunch hour I was ~~stalking~~ looking around on Facebook and noticed a friend has posted a link to this article. I relate to this author a lot - she loves her kids to bits and pieces, but isn't in love with the baby stage - just like me! Babies are a freaking ton of work with very little reward in the beginning. It gets so much better when they are 1+. I have no desire to have another infant.

Anyways - this particular article was all about savoring parenting moments, because at some point they will end. And they will probably end without you even realizing it. She starts listing these last moments that are eventually going to come: "But for today I'm focusing on the last times still to come, even though I won't know that they're the last chapters until long after they've gone. The last snuggle. The last time Little Dude asks me to bring him chocolate milk. The last time we play fire trucks. The last time he falls down and comes crying to me with his entire body shaking, tears streaming down his face, believing with childish certainty that a kiss from me will make his skinned knee better. The last time he asks to marry me. The last time he believes in my omniscience. The last time we color together at the kitchen table. I'm not naïve enough to believe that this moment of reflection will stop me from becoming irritated, impatient, frustrated, bored or upset tomorrow when my son whines, spills spaghetti sauce on the rug or throws a fit because I won't let him stay up late. Maybe, though, I'll temper my response if I can remember how fleeting this all is. That for every moment I've prayed would end, there is something I miss." - Devon Corneal

Next thing I know - I'm crying at work! I've been at this job less than 2 months - crying isn't a good idea yet. I quickly pull it together and try to finish reading the article, but start crying again! I don't know what it was that she wrote that opened up the water-gates - probably just the knowledge that everything she said is true! These things are going to come to an end, and I'm not even going to realize it until long after it's ended and I'm craving it to come back just for a little while. I highly encourage you to read her whole blog - Mom's get some tissues ready - it's quite good.

So, I did what any Mom would do after reading that. Tonight for dinner - I had a little extra patience when Mary didn't want to eat (and gave her dessert anyways!) - I let Liam ride his bike for 5 extra minutes - we read one of those longer books that I try to avoid because I'm too sleepy to get through the whole thing - I gave them each a few extra kisses. It's so easy to get caught up in life and sticking to the schedule, that sometimes I forget that what my kids want the most is my love. Especially on Fridays! We're all usually exhausted from the week - Liam is still adjusting to full day Kindergarten, Liam has karate one night and Mary has dance another night - so come Friday we are dead tired! And this week the elementary school had their Scholastic Book Fair one night that we just had to go to (Liam was going to loose his mind if he didn't get the Captain Underpants book!) Rushing through things on Friday so we can all just get to bed and put a lid on the week has become the normal. Today I needed the reminder to just slow down and enjoy my munchkins - because before I know it, these crazy filled weeks are going to be gone.

How do you remind yourself to slow down when things get a little crazy?

Memory Lane Photo Album!