Friday, May 16, 2008

Undivided Attention

I've been blogging about some of the struggles that Daniel and I have had with Sarah. I want to point out that many of these problems come from the inconsistent boundaries that Daniel and I have given Sarah. We are working hard to rectify that and it's caused many discipline moments. As always, it got worse but is now getting better.

Today, I was in the house and Sarah was outside hollering like a banshee for me. This plucks my nerves to no end. The rule is to come get one of us unless it's an emergency. Sure enough, I walked out side and she wanted to show me some flip on the trampoline. I had to make a choice then. I could let my frustration turn into a lecture on proper etiquette or I could give that lesson in a loving way that would allow us to share a few special moments.

I honestly felt like giving the lecture. We've had the yelling conversation so many times that I have nightmares (just kidding). Instead, I walked over to the trampoline and told Sarah that next time she needed to come in and get me. Then I stopped for a moment and watched her new trick. After that, I had her clean up the mess she and her friends made. She did it with an unusually small amount of backtalk. While she was doing that, I climbed on the trampoline.

God has really impressed on me lately that I need to stop and enjoy time with Sarah, Ashton and even Daniel. This was Sarah's moment today. She came back out and we bounced around on the trampoline and joked and laughed. It was light and fun and easygoing. She had my undivided attention for 20+ minutes and I could tell that it made a huge impact on her. I hope I can find that more often.

As a wife and mother, I find that I get caught up in the laundry, the dishes and parenting. I focus so much on them that I start to miss out on those moments. So today, look at what you are doing. Can a load of laundry wait? Can the kids clean their room later? Is the house livable for one more day? If so, ignore some of those chores for a short time and spend some quality time with your loved ones. As a mom, your undivided attention is just as valuable, if not more so than all the other things you give to your family.

1 comment:

Alicia Looper said...

So true. I need to be reminded of that sometimes.