Treasure the Doing

I know some of you have heard of the Nie Nie Dialogues and that the author of that blog was in a plane crash with her husband a month or so ago. She remains in critical condition and is burned over 80% of her body. Her husband is in a little bit better shape. One of my friends is friends with her and posted about the accident right after it happened so I have been tuning in to their story since the beginning. Her sister has kept a blog to update everyone on her recovery and has started reposting her sister's posts for all those missing her. She is an incredible mother to 4 beautiful children. If you have a chance, check out her blog and feel inspired to be better.

One of her posts had this quote:

I really enjoyed this quote by Anna Quindlen.Elder M. Russell Ballard quoted her in my favorite talk"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments.{or if I could enter here-the basket-head mother syndrome} 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).

I am often thinking about the next thing (7:00 bed time), trying to stay on schedule rather than just enjoying the moment. The dishes will still be there, the laundry will still need folding, and the crumbs on the floor (oh the constant crumbs on the floor) will of course still be there AFTER I play with my kids and cherish the moments I have been given to be their mom.