My 4-year-old recently started attending preschool, and I have begun getting up a little early on school days. Rising early gives me time to chat briefly with my husband before he leaves for work, and I get a shower and sometimes enjoy a quiet breakfast before my girls wake up and we have to head out the door.
These solitary moments are not only a good mommy break; they are a nice time to step back and really look at life. This is my home. This is my dining room table. This is my cat dozing on my lap. Those are my dishes in the sink. Those are my daughters sleeping behind closed doors. This is my life. I feel like I’m peeking into a dollhouse.
In recent weeks, I’ve read posts from other moms that discuss at length the difficulties of motherhood. One mom gives specific reasons why being a stay at home mom is so rough. Another mom talks about how she cannot always enjoy being a mother when she is “in the moment.” I wholeheartedly agree that parenting can be rough, especially now that I have two children and am outnumbered during the day when my husband is working.
Yet I had a beautiful moment during the morning last week. Sitting at the dining room table with my bagel and cup of tea in front of me, with the sun just starting to glow through the blinds and the birds helping themselves to breakfast at the feeder near our patio, I thought about how good life is. Motherhood is good.
Sure, it was one peaceful moment before a day filled with preschool, grocery shopping, baby care, meal preparation, tantrums, dress-up play, and housework. Also, I had gotten up to care for the baby during the night, so I was groggy.
But in that moment, peering into the dollhouse, so to speak, I saw my loving husband with a good job that supports our family, with enough left over for treats now and then. I saw our two healthy, bright children. I saw our cozy home filled with healthy food to eat. Many mothers would give anything to have this life.
I am so busy doing that I rarely pause to really see, but that less harried perspective is a nice stress reducer and a good way to focus on life’s blessings rather than its irritants. I have never considered myself to be a true morning person, but for once I am grateful for 6:30, and for a few quiet moments alone at the breakfast table.
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Category: MomsTags: blessings
