Sidetrack...

I promise, I really was planning on talking about sewing today, I even have a draft written and pictures lined up.  As frequently happens in my daily life, I have become sidetracked.  I often spend my days in endless frustrating loops: I can't mop until I vacuum, I can't vacuum until I pick up the toys, but I really need to do the dishes first, I think Patrick needs a diaper change...you get the point.

Today, after a few of these loops and a rushed through nap routine because I really wanted to have a diet coke in peace, I came across this quote by author and columnist Anna Quindlen:

“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”(Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).

This quote literally brought tears to my eyes.  I thought back on our struggles with fertility problems and all the things we went through to become pregnant.  I recalled all of my deals (with God) and promises (to myself) that if I could just be granted this one wish I would always live in the moment and appreciate what a true gift children are.  But...I am human.  Of course I don't cherish all of the moments.  Sometimes we all need a reminder that life is good and time passes quickly.  I WILL make good on my deals and keep my promises and not be in such a hurry to get on to the next thing. I WILL savor the moments and the frustrations and the insanity and remember how truly lucky I am.