Apr 19, 2012

Ice Cream Patience

Oh my what a week it's been.  Not hard, exactly, but just ugh.  Heavy.

On Tuesday, or maybe it was only Wednesday, I decided that I want to focus on some happy moments.  I want to write about something fun and exciting from this week.  And it's not that there haven't been any good moments, I just haven't felt particularly joyous.  Or inspired.

Earlier in the week we skipped Paige's nap and devoured an afternoon snack of ice cream.  The girls licked their bowls clean, faces a mess with chocolate smears and blue and white sprinkles.  It dripped onto their shirts and pants, painted beards on their faces, and left streaks of stickiness in their hair.  Instead of bemoaning the mess I let it go and soaked up the joy in their smiles, the sparkles in their eyes.

Of course, I am now kicking myself for not at least pretreating the chocolate stains.  The brown splotches have yet to come out, and I'm beginning to think I've lost this battle.

But, that's a small price to pay.

I find that when I let things go, it all just seem to be easier, to go more smoothly.  Perhaps this is sort of a "duh" thought, but it's like I have to relearn this every couple weeks.  (Or months, if I'm lucky.  And days if I'm not.)  When I let go of the mess and the control, and my other hang-ups, my patience seems to increased tenfold.  I am more relaxed and I have more fun.  And I'm sure that, in turn, leads to more fun for the girls.  After all, it's more fun to let your ice cream drip down your chin, than to have Mommy wipe your chin after every bite.

Not that I would ever do that.  Err....

But I appreciate them, these happy moments.  Even if I don't always feel as joyous as I would like to.  Or think I should be feeling.  I know the more I can let go, the more frequent they will be.  And that would be good for us all.



5 comments:

  1. I need to live in these kind of moments more often. Love this so much. And totally worth the chocolate stains. xo

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    1. I hope to remember this more too. Unfortunately the stains were on a borrowed shirt. Oops.

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  2. I too need to embrace these moments more and have been doing so more over the past week. Boy, what a huge difference it makes for everyone. The tension just drops. Thanks for the reminder and cutest picture EVER!

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  3. I try really hard to live like this and yes, it is much easier, even with the stains.

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Any thoughts? I'd love to hear from you!