Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Taking Time to Smell My Roses

 
A quiet whimper slowly increased to a sleepy "Mommy." I acknowledged the monitor's sounds in my still-sleeping mind.  I glanced at the clock--just before 6 am.  Could I get her soothed and back to sleep before the 6:30 commotion?
I groggily made my way down the hall, opened her door and desperately felt for the missing pacy and silky.  She whined louder and begged for my attention, "Mommy."  Eyes wide open, all vestiges of sleep gone.  Instead of my usual reaction--get her back to sleep at all costs--I climbed onto her tiny "big-girl" bed, opened my arms and cradled my blue-eyed baby to my chest.  
Who knows where the time went, but as we sat there, quiet and satisfied, I watched the sky silently creep up the paint chip--from black through all the shades of gray, finally settling on a subtly tinged pink.  
I listened as the first bird awoke his friends with a quick call, and I counted all four garbage cans as my neighbor dragged them to the curb.
Alarms marked the end of this rare moment--first Ben's chime, then Brad's arpeggio, then Micah's insistent beep.  I knew these precious few minutes would now end.  As I planted a kiss on her clean head, a prayer was born in my heart--"Thank You for this exact moment in time.  Thank You for all these children You share with me every day.  May I never forget this frozen memory."

"Should we go get the kids and Daddy?"  "Off we toddled, pacy and silky in tow.  Hyrum shyly rounded the corner, looking for his morning snuggle.  Micah bounded in, his energy fueled by the knowledge that his cast was coming off in two hours.  Ben turned over in his messy cocoon with a kind, "Hi, DeeDee" on his lips.  As usual, Lily--my not-a-morning-person child--needed a little more encouragement to join us for scriptures.  And Dad met us at the foot of the stairs, dressed and ready for his workout.

May I never forget.

My life is good.



17 comments:

  1. Thank you for this, today. Last night was a little rough with the littles waking several times for this or that. Thank you for reminding me that I need to stop and smell MY roses - even during those sleepless nights! :o)

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  2. Lovely - perfectly lovely. May you continue to be blessed with an appreciation for every such moment.

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  3. clearly i've been away too long - october was such chaos for me! but a post like this one sure makes me happy to be back, i soaked up every beautiful word - i've had mornings e.x.a.c.t.l.y. like these ... so precious! your words here are so beautiful - great post!

    i also peeked through at all i've been missing these last few weeks over here ... evie's dancing is so SO cute and I'm on pinterest, friend ... have been since may, and I think I'm over 600 pins at this point - let's connect!! and lastly, the sugar monkey ... i'm in that same boat with sugar addiction - and october 2011 was an all-time low ... i recently stumbled upon this on pinterest:

    http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/i-quit-sugar-ebook/

    i haven't actually purchased it, but i'm intrigued ... any recs? thoughts? opinions? I totally need to be in a support group :(

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  5. Yes, it is. VERY good.

    I actually waxed nostalgic reading about your morning......And had to remind myself that MY life is good, too. Empty nest and all!

    Every season is beautiful, in its own time.

    =)

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  6. Sweet account. I'm so glad you're appreciating these moments. I miss them.

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  7. A wonderful remembering post Jen. Being present, that's all that really matters.
    Dana

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  8. awwww sweet blessings on that one....

    *(i've had those moments with reid lately...he's in a crib and part of me has wanted to climb in and snuggle....i keep thinking that my weight would make the crib crash and then where would i be?) grins

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  9. So, SO sweet Jen.
    Thank goodness we are writing all these things down...what a memory!
    have a happy day

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  10. It's been a while since I visited and I just wanted to say, this was perfect. Just perfect. And it made me all teary!

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  11. Oh I love this! And what a great reminder.

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  12. just beautiful. Ranks right up there with your post about your 1st masterpiece. Thanks for sharing.

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  13. I had a similiar morning, where I was aware and in the moment. Life is good. Beautiful post!

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  14. Love this post :) What a lovely start to your day!

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