Two weeks from now, it won't matter that Sunny went to school today without her hair brushed. It won't matter that Little Man has apparently been wearing the same pair of jeans for entirely too long, despite a quantity of clean jeans in his drawer. It won't matter that I have resorted to bribery to get Nemo to take his foul-tasting antibiotic (you want M&Ms, buddy, you gotta take the meds). It won't matter that Trout couldn't answer a question on her science homework last night and had a crazy meltdown when she asked her father for help and he wanted to teach her how to get the answer rather than just give it to her and how her life was going to be ruined because she wants to be a good student and doesn't have the experience yet to realize that one missed question on one night of science homework isn't going to change the fact that she is an exceptional student.
What will matter, is that Sunny and I shared a nice walk to the bus stop together, just the two of us, and how I pulled her hat out of her backpack and stuck it on her head so she wouldn't be cold in the blustery wind and we talked and smiled. And that Little Man is far more interested in reading his biography of Jim Henson for school than the fact that his favorite pair of pants might be thinking about walking off by themselves and are destined for kidnapping and washing. And that Nemo gets over the strep that is making him, and consequently the rest of us, miserable, and that he knows his parents love him enough to temper the have to with something nice, and that we shared those M&Ms and a good long cuddle on the couch while watching Cars together for probably the 87th time. And that Trout knows that we are here for her, and while we won't let her take the easy way out, we will make sure she knows how to find the right way and how to keep it all in perspective, and love her no matter what.
And it is vital for me to remember this, when faced with the mess left in the wake of the kid whose antibiotic is making him sick to his stomach at 2am, when I'm facing a mountain of laundry on no sleep and an inability to find an affordable puppet of Kermit the Frog for Little Man's report, and a strong desire to just sit and brush Sunny's long hair 'til it shines, and no clue how to convey to Trout just how awesome she is when she's twelve and won't believe a thing I say, anyway.
So proud of you for recognizing and taking a moment to appreciate and THANK YOU for reminding me to do the same. Life is lived in the small moments, right? I hope the patient feels better soon.
Posted by: Stacy | March 09, 2012 at 02:49 PM
So true!! Have you seen this video? The days are long... but the years are short. xo
http://www.theyearsareshort.com/
Posted by: Fish-Flopper | March 16, 2012 at 08:26 AM