Tuesday, March 10, 2009

That's Why They Call It The Present

By Kelly

I was kneeling next to the couch yesterday, reaching for Sonya Lee, who had somehow managed to escape the Little People Amusement Park, when I felt a tiny body grab my neck.

It was Teyla, my one-year-old daughter. She shrieked in laughter at my obvious surprise. She pushed herself flat against my back and bounced on the balls of her chubby feet. It was piggy back time.

I stood up, grabbed the squirming baby and took off around the room, delighting in the joy of my daughter. I wasn’t aware of the toys strewn hither and yon (much) or the piles of laundry in the next room. I was living in the moment,

I wish I did that more often.

Instead, I tend to live distracted.

It might be physical distraction – I Twitter as I eat lunch, I make dinner as I play Uno. Or it might be mental distraction – I write blog posts as I drive Natalie to school and think about the book I’m reading as I play Legos with Connor.

Whatever it is, it prevents me from living in the present. I take for granted this moment and blow past it to whatever I deem more important.

Teyla counters that tendency in me. She pulls me out of the reverie and into the now.

She needs me. I'm her Mom, her provider, her best friend and her most-faithful steed.

But sometimes, I think, I need her more.

Kelly also blogs at Love Well.

8 comments:

  1. This is so true for me, too. I desire to live in the present, and am so thankful for my baby who keeps my focus where it should be (much to my frustration at times!).

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  2. I know this, and I feel this so much, too. It is hard getting pulled out of those other moments to be brought into the REAL one, but once you are there, it feels so good.

    Steph

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  3. [...] and shear joy of taking time to live in the moment with our children as she writes “That’s Why They Call It The Present.” You can read this post and get other great parenting insight at 5 Minutes for [...]

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  4. My son shared with me recently...

    Yesterday is history,
    tomorrow is a mystery,
    but today is a gift
    that's why we call it the present.

    I was browsing looking for a topic for our Parental Power call this week and this is it! Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. [...] topic was triggered by a blog post from www.5minutesforparenting.com.   Our son came home a while back with the [...]

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  6. Good discussion yesterday on our podcast - thanks for your post Kelly!

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  7. WOW!

    That's me! Oh, how I wish I lived in the moment more! The ache in my heart is starting to throb now that I think about...but she's asleep. They're all asleep.

    UGGGH!

    Well, I "DID" forget the overwhelming urge (happens often) to clean the house and traded it to pull my toddler in the wagon. The floors are sticky. (YUK!) The bathrooms REALLLY need to be clean. (GROSS!) But I can no longer ignore the fact that my agenda is not always best.

    Thanks for this post!

    LOVED IT!

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