Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Capturing Moments

Joel started reading The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe to Abigail at bedtime. Last night he read the part when Mr. Tumnus and Lucy have a tea party together and she remembered her tea parties with Ajda last summer. Then she asked if she could have a tea party and Joel said, “yeah, maybe you and Mama can have one tomorrow.” She had a hard time going to sleep last night and at one point she came out of her room repeating the phrase, pea poddy. I didn’t understand her and wondered if she was saying “pee potty” but she isn’t ready for potty training yet, and since I wasn’t a part of the previous conversation, I was totally confused and just put her back in bed.

This morning though, we were at the grocery store and she said it again and I realized she was saying tea party. So after we came home, got Eli into bed, p
ut the milk and ice cream away we set up our pea poddy. She kept saying, “this is fun Mommy!”

Joel came home and gave me the greatest complement! He said, "Amy, you’re a great Mom!” He said, “good job for catching the important moments” It instantly brought tears to my eyes and I’ve been thinking about that all day and have felt so inspired, refreshed and encouraged.

He reminded me of what I want to be about as a stay-at-home Mom. Tuesdays are my days to clean the downstairs floors. I usually do that during Elijah’s morning nap, but today I skipped it to have a tea party with my daughter. It meant the groceries set in their bags on the kitchen floor for a couple hours instead of being put away right away. It means th
at my floors are going to be dirtier this week, or that I might have to do two chores tomorrow, it means that when Kathy comes over for dinner tonight she might leave with dirty socks.

Yet it also means that my schedule got set aside for more
important moments that might have been missed otherwise. It means that Abigail got her wish for a special tea party and how special for me that she wanted to share it with Mommy! It means that I taught her how to set a special table and how to serve tea. It means that that special moment with my special girl didn’t get missed this time.
I want to remember that as I go about my days keeping busy vacuuming, wiping noses, changing diapers, doing laundry, reading stories, cleaning bathrooms, making meals. My daughter may remember that we had a clean home when she was a child, but I hope that she remembers tea parties, popcorn and movie time, cuddling on the couch with books, going for walks and special moments with Mommy.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just caught up on the blogs entries. I go from tears to laughter. Tea and tag,pudding and pounding...your babes are blessed with awesome parents. Kitty

Tanja said...

Pišem po slovensko,ker ne bi rada pokazala svojega slabega znanja angleščine. Ko sem prebrala to, so tudi meni kar solzice pritekle po licu! Kako krasno je biti mamica in največje darilo za otroka je zagotovo tvoja bližina, tvoja ljubezen. Res si čudovita mamica in oba otročka ti bosta hvaležna za te lepe trenutke! Ste družina vredna občudovanja!
Tanja

Anonymous said...

That is so beautiful! The house and all the chores will always be there, but when Abigail is older she will remember and share with her friends and family all the "little" times that she had with her family. When people say "they grow up so fast" believe them they do, cherish every moment with them. You guys are doing a great job with Abigail and Eli.
Love you all,
The California Clan

Amy said...

So sweet! Thanks for the reminder and encouragement--that truly is what being a mom is all about!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for encouraging me even though you don't know me. I came to your blog through a friends page, and am very encouraged just through hearing how you set aside the groceries- I need to work on that for sure! Anyway thanks for the reminder of how much more important it is to enjoy our little ones. I have a whole day tomorrow and I think my daughter and I just might enjoy a tea party :) Thanks again.

Kathy said...

I don't mind dirty socks! :-) I think you are doing such a great job with Abigail and Eli! There is no doubt in my mind that they will have many good memories to recount of their times with their mamma and dadda! :-) Oh, and the chicken pot pie was delicious!!