Today we were at the doctor's office. I was worried that Emmett might have an ear infection, but turns out he's fine, just a cold - glad I had it checked out though. Anyway, while we were sitting in the waiting room, waiting, waiting, waiting (our doctor is never on time), Emmett started making eyes at an old lady. He's turning into quite the little flirt, which is kind of a nice change, considering how shy Annika is. So this lady (who was quite old, she told me she had a great-grandson that was about Emmett's age) starts talking and playing with Emmett, and talking to me. And I could tell it was coming... the "old lady giving unwanted advice" moment.
If you're on Facebook, you may have seen this article being shared recently, talking about how people (usually old ladies), love to tell young mothers to "carpe diem, enjoy every moment because they grow so fast." The author talks about how she hates being told that (especially while her kids are acting up), because honestly, there are some moments that are just not that enjoyable, and it's okay if we're not enjoying every moment. We can still be good mothers and can still love and enjoy our children, even while admitting that it's not that fun to clean up 5 potty accidents in one day, or get only 3 hours of sleep at night (some of my personal experiences). I know not everyone agreed with her article, but it definitely spoke to me (maybe because I read it after a particularly difficult week). It was nice to know that there are other mothers out there like me, having days when they count down the minutes until bedtime. Will my perspective change as my children grow up? Will I regret not enjoying these moments more? Maybe, I can't predict the future. There will likely be moments (probably the good ones) that I'll look back on and miss, but hopefully it's with a clear memory that not every moment was like that.
So, back to the doctor's office, and the old lady. With this article fresh in my mind, I suspected that an "enjoy every moment" statement would soon be coming from this lady. And I was okay with that, since she seemed pretty nice and well-meaning, and my kids were actually being quite well-behaved at the moment. But she said something a bit different, something that I really appreciated - she just said "love them, the years go by quickly." A bit of a twist on the usual line. I thought, that's so true - we don't need to enjoy every moment of parenthood (or even every moment of life in general), we just need to have love. Really, that's what it all comes down to.
Thanks old lady. Oh, and I hope your insurance problems got sorted out. :)
2 comments:
That is so beautiful. thanks for sharing the advice ...probably goes for all of us in most circumstances too - just love, otherwise the opportunities slip away.. and what else really matters in life anyways, cause like you said, that's what it all comes down to.. well said.
love you Pam:)
(i think i needed that reminder in one of my own life situations..)
So glad that you got that different kind of comment - what neat timing!
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