Monday, November 10, 2008

Live for Today!

This last week, I've had a lot of time to sit and think. (Of course, I've also had a lot of time to sleep, read, and take pain medication too, but that's beside the point.) I feel better and better every day and today, as I was laying on the couch, my daughters came in and I took the time to love each one of them in turn. I got to visit with them and love on them and just hear what kinds of things were on their minds. I also saw them playing with my husband; hiding things in a treasure box, dodging and throwing balls, jumping off benches, and running and shrieking from one side of the room to the other. Now, I realize that these activities give most mothers cause to raise their eyes, including me. But these are pretty regular activities once Daddy gets home at our house. So, tonight, I wondered why it made me so happy to sit and watch.
First of all, I seldom sit and watch. Usually at that time of day, I'm doing something else, making dinner, doing dishes, helping with homework, etc. But tonight, I was content to let the leftover flautas reheat in the oven, leave the dishes in the sink, and sit on the couch. I always make time in my day to play with my children, read to them, visit with them. That's part of the fun of being a mom. But I never seem to enjoy it like I did today.
It really made me wonder how often I stop and enjoy life. I see it and even document it with pictures. Sure. But how often to I enjoy it? So frequently, I'm trying to get somewhere, or get something done so I can do something else or go somewhere. I seldom stop and allow myself to enjoy my children like I should. I'm too concerned with having dinner ready on time or whatever.
And tonight, as I watched my children being silly and vying for the most attention and doing the craziest of things, I realized how much I will regret later in life if I don't take time to sit and enjoy my kids from time to time. I can't do it all the time but I can sometimes. And I can certainly put off dinner for 15 minutes or leave the floor a disaster. Taking pictures can only give you so much pleasure. But memories can make you happy for a lifetime.
So, if you're looking for a little different take on life today, I encourage you to take 15 minutes and enjoy something about your day that you usually miss; the sunset, a phone call to a loved one; something. It's only 15 minutes and it will lift your day so much. If you live for tomorrow, your life will be filled with a bunch of empty yesterdays. Live for today!

2 comments:

Liz Adair said...

What a nice posting, Rachel! I read down to the next one to find out why the pain meds.

Sounds like you're doing okay. Don't forget to eat popsicles--or do they still do that with tonsils?

Anonymous said...

Today is the day that has changed the life of a dear friend of mine forever. I'm about to go console her in the loss of her husband of 27 years. Before I go, the title of your posting, "Live for Today" caught my eye. I decided to read it before leaving the house. How blessed we all are to have small moments, here for the taking -- if we simply pause, look and feel. I'm grateful to hear that in my friend's husband's last words to her, he expressed his love and appreciation for all she does for him. I'm grateful she took the time to hear. Thank you for the reminder to Live for today ! It's true that we can't pause all of the time, but we can sometimes. Let hope those are the times that make all the difference.
Thanks for the great posting and for sharing your thoughts.