Small Moments

Life's a funny thing.

What's it all about, anyway? I mean really - I spend a fair amount of time attempting to just make it through a day, stumbling about and hoping I don't do anything terribly idiotic.

*waits for laughter to die down* (I know, I'm always doing something terribly idiotic)

Life seems to be this chain of events - this compilation of small moments really - and in each small moment lies our greater purpose. Today I had the pleasure of babysitting my nieces. I was tired. Really, really tired. The one thing about children is that it seems they are never tired. They are full of energy, excitement, imagination and if you are going to spend any time with them, you better be full of it too. It's so tempting to get frustrated with the noise and the messes and the constant questions. After Ella woke up from her nap, I sat in the rocking chair with her for almost an hour. It was quiet and peaceful and as I rocked there with her I wanted to just savor it. I closed my eyes and said a little prayer. I asked God to help me live in the moment. We spend so much time running and thinking about tomorrow that living in the moment seems impossible. But if you are able to slow down a little bit, you experience life in all its splendor.

Logan and I had a little Mommy/Son outing tonight. I call it "Little Man time". Just me and little man, having quality one on one time together. We went searching for the perfect toy, and then had dinner out, a yummy dessert and then off for a little more shopping. By the time we left the last store, it was late and dark out and I was ready to get home. The weather was perfect tonight - a beautiful fall evening. Just outside the doors, you could still hear the music from inside. Something apparently struck a mood in Logan, because he suddenly began to dance right there on the sidewalk. Impatiently, I grabbed for his hand so we could cross the parking lot, but he just grinned at me and continued dancing. Again, I impatiently attempted to grab his hand and looked around for cars. And again, he grinned at me and and flailed around a little more. He looked ridiculous, I'm not gonna lie. I started to laugh, which made him start to laugh. A car drove by and 2 women stared out their windows at the flailing child and hysterical mother. That made me laugh even more - and what else could I do at this point, but join in? So there we were, Mommy and Son dancing (flailing) our way across the parking lot in the dark all the way to our car. It was completely and utterly ridiculous.

But small moments create great big memories and bonding moments that I truly believe are vital to human beings. It's crucial that we live in the moment, and when we do, we learn to love each other in a more real and intense way. Spending an hour rocking in the rocking chair with my niece could have been time well spent doing other things. Dancing across a store parking lot probably was pretty idiotic looking. Ok, who am I kidding...there is no probably. It was definitely idiotic looking. But I'm positive those moments leave lasting impressions - especially on me. And as life continues to crash on around me, those small moments and lasting impressions just so happen to rock my world.