My kids can be a lot. A lot of words, a lot of action, a lot of noise.
And even as their parent, it can be too much to take in at times. You have been there right? Oh please tell me I am not alone in this! 🙂
I don’t get much quiet time in my day, typically my only time is really early in the mornings when I can do my Bible study.
This morning Elijah was up unusually early. He came down while I was in the shower and wanted breakfast. After breakfast he took a shower and then came to me to help him finish getting dressed.
He is wearing a shirt today with the number 36 on it.
So while I was dressing him I told him he had the number 36 on his shirt and he said “That’s a really BIG number”. “36 is a really, really big number”
Then he started to spread his arms out representing how big the number was.
At this point I was only half paying attention to him.
He probably got an “uh-hum” in there as well.
At some point he said “Do you see mom?!”
“Yep, I see”
And then he said something that snapped me out of my selfish, inattentive fog….
“No mom! Look at me with your eyes! You have to see with your eyes!”
He knows, even at four years old, he can recognize those times when I am not giving him my full attention.
And he wants to be seen – he wants to be heard.
Don’t we all?
It was a simple reminder this morning that I need to be more fully present. With my husband, my kids. I can give my “best” at the office to our clients, and then come home and not try as hard with my family.
Today I encourage you to be fully aware, stop and see and really listen, when you are interacting with your family. So that they know you can see them. Â My family is my greatest blessing – I don’t want to take that for granted for even a moment!!
Oh how I needed this today. I often feel as though my children get the leftovers from my day, and there’s not much left of me by then. I find myself groaning when I finally settle in for some quiet time to see one of my children poking their heads in the room to see if it’s ok for some one-on-one time. I uh-huh my children far too much. The do need to be seen…
Thanks for this today Kristin. xo
Oh, such a good reminder, friend. Thank you. I’m totally guilty of this…especially as we finish up day two of being home sick (her, not me) and the days get long and the patience gets shorter. I’m so blessed by your encouragement. Love ya! 🙂
Such a great reminder! Sometimes I think Savannah’s poor behavior is reflection of how “present” I am, which is so humbling. I’ve been trying to make a conscious effort to put the to do list away and just be with them., because I know that’s what they need/want the most, but it’s so hard with everything else us moms are juggling!! Thanks for sharing!