I honestly cannot believe that I am the mom of an almost 3-year-old boy already. Everyone told me that the days would be long, but the years would go by quickly, and they were all so right. Charlie is the greatest gift and blessing. He is my mini best friend, and my favorite moments are the ones spent with him and my husband and I am doing my best to take them all in before they are gone.
I still remember waking up every two hours and sleeping in shifts with my husband to feed Charlie every night. I was so tired, but so in love. Those moments are already gone. I remember chasing him around and becoming a human bubble just to protect him when he was learning to walk… now we race, and he of course wins every time. I remember being so afraid to let him try new foods in the fear that he would choke, now he eats everything and anything. Those moments are already gone. Right now, we are in the sweetest season where he wants to play with friends, but I am still his favorite person to play with and first choice, I know too soon those moments will be gone as well.
I am learning daily and reminding myself to cherish every single moment. To not get caught up in planning for tomorrow, to be present and give my full attention as often as possible to that moment. To turn the phone off, to mute the email notifications and just be. It is so hard for us to just BE and not be thinking about what we need to do next or waiting for our phone or emails to ding reminding us of something else we must do and taking us away from our present moment.
As moms, we have to wear so many hats, remember so many things and cook so much food. I am still in disbelief at the number of snacks a toddle can eat in a day! I often wonder why God chose to only give us two hands and one mind to keep it all together! But what an incredible blessing and calling it is. So Mama, I am not sure where you find yourself today, maybe your waist deep in laundry, or maybe your workload and responsibilities at home feel more than you can carry. Can I encourage you today to just BE? To just enjoy each moment as it comes and not worry and stress over the never-ending to-do list and workload? Something I am quickly learning is that the to-do list and workload will still be there when I get back to them, but these moments, these precious moments, they are fleeting, and I don’t want to miss a single one of them.
Ashley McClain is a Wife to Bobby, Mom to Charlie, General Manager of CTN-WHTN Nashville and Host of – What If? Moments for Moms aired nationally on the Christian Television Network. Currently surviving on Grace and Coffee… lots and lots of Coffee.
