Often as a mother (and father) we get caught up in our crazy busy day to day. There are a lot of things we are NOT warned about prior to having children. Prior to having children we really do not realize how much TIME we have. We had time to be bored! Let that sink in a sec.
After having children we get extremely caught up in parenthood. I am not saying
this is a bad thing but often we end up losing sight of ourselves AND our lover, our partner, our other half who made this family with us. We get up, make breakfast, shuffle the children to school or daycare, or get their home activities in order. We rush out the door to work quickly kissing our partner (or not). We then get completely consumed with our work until the end of the day where we now worry about dinner and getting our children to their extra-curricular activities, bath routines, and bedtime routines- stories and kisses tucking in your children 10 times before they STAY. It is this moment parents wait for! But now that the children are asleep we prepare to do this all over the next day and often crash into the bed ourselves.
What I describe here is my reality... or was. I worry about what's next so much that I miss what's NOW.
I laid in bed with my husband lastnight and I got to thinking how incredibly lucky I am to be laying next to him. Women and men all over the world are not able to do something as "simple" as lay next to their loved one, kiss them good-bye, kiss them just because, be mad at them for leaving the cap off the toothpaste.. and yet I lay here taking it for granted. I ask you to think about your partner in crime. Do you appreciate them? Do you respect them? Are you thankful for them? Do you take the time to sit and absorb them? Do you know every inch of them? Their smell, the way their skin feels, the freckles, birth marks, the quirky things they do that makes them them. Do you even know them? If they were gone tomorrow could you place yourself in their arms? Many of us lose this as we parent. It is not because we are
bad lovers, husbands, or wives. It's just we are trying to figure this whole parenting thing out and we are exhausted. I get it. But I find that when I take the time to breath in my husband
and remember why I fell in love with him, focus on the good he brings into my life, and accept him truly as my other half, I am a much better mother, wife, and women. A happy mother makes for a happy home. And happy parents often raise happier children. I encourage you to take the time to reconnect. Take the time to lay in bed. Talk, laugh,
cuddle. Sure you might lose a few ZzZ's but the energy you will gain will be worth it. Do not lose sight of your love. Your children will always be your children and nothing will replace the love in your heart for them, but they will get older and they will leave. You will be left with your partner. Do you really want to look over and not know the person you just raised these kids with? I don't! Each day is a day we should not take for granted. We are ONLY guaranteed right NOW. Not tomorrow, not next week, just now. So soak it up. Soak them in and know that if they were gone tomorrow you could recreate them in your mind body and soul with ease.