I watched my boys fall asleep last night, and I couldn't stop the tears from spilling down my cheeks. I guess every mom has a meltdown or two or forty like this, but it hit me like a ton of Legos that my babies are growing up. My boys are now four and three -just a few short years away from braces and Little League and summer camp and incredibly awkward school pictures- but we are having so much fun together in this stage of early childhood.
Trips to the grocery store and other public outings aren't nearly as traumatic as they were a couple years ago (back when I thought it was absolutely necessary to load up two diaper bags, a Pack N Play, lullaby CDs, and enough Goldfish to end world hunger, just for a quick trip to Food Lion). My little angels are also learning that the food pyramid doesn't consist solely of Easy Mac and fruit snacks (chicken fries count as a protein, right?). And best of all, they shower me with kisses and hugs and "I love yous" until I feel like my heart will burst. I'd be perfectly content to freeze the clock and chase Indian summer with these two little mischief makers and their Daddy for the rest of my days.
If only I could....
No matter how much we as parents wish time wouldn't taunt us and float away like a leaf in the wind, we can't stop it. We can't even slow it. We can only squeeze the most out of the minutes we have right now....
Right Now- a precious, priceless gift from God that I often choose to squander on meaningless activities instead of investing it in my children.
Right Now- a split second to say "yes" to good and "no" to evil.
Right Now- a fleeting chance to distinguish between the temporary and the eternal.
Right Now- the tick tock tick tock that all too soon turns into yesterday and might-have-been.
Oh, how the Lord is convicting me about my misuse and abuse of Right Now! I spend time like it's unlimited and refundable; I waste precious minutes on Candy Crush and Facebook and Pinterest and Netflix like I have forever at my fingertips; I foolishly continue my pursuit of more when I have all I need hopping up and down in front of me, tugging at my shirt and asking me to read them a book.
There are a million and one ways to wave goodbye to time, but I'm learning, little by little, that any moment shared with my sons is time well-spent.
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