Screaming children and Mommy's nerves do NOT mix well. I like attention, so I should have expected my kids to be the same way......but do they honestly need my undivided attention 24/7? Luckily, Elliot seems to be okay if he can just watch Cars or "happy giants". Evie, on the other hand, seems to need me hovering right over her making silly faces and sounding like a crazy woman. Oh well, they're only little once, right? They grow up too fast, don't they? Come on, someone reassure me.....quick :)
All I can say is thank goodness for Elder Ballard's talk during General Conference. I swear it's the only one I heard and it was written just for me. Just re-reading it right now is helping me to relax a little bit.
I particularly like this part:
The first question: What can you do, as a young mother, to reduce the pressure and enjoy your family more?
First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.
Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”(Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).
Yippee! Moments. I can handle moments. I'm so glad that I'm not expected to make every single minute of the day sunshine and rainbows.
The little, fun things are the things they'll remember. Like when I let Elliot spend a few minutes licking Nesquik powder off of his fingers. Or the days we spend at the park this summer. Or the bedtime stories and tickle fights.
Now that I've reminded myself that not all moments here are chaotic and loud, I think I'll go to bed and think of the fun times :)
p.s. here's a cute little chocolate face that might make you smile......it works for me anyway.
