Learning to Rest

We just survived the mother of all stomach bugs...
It was a week long event, but I will spare you the details!  Fortunately, it only affected half the family.  Unfortunately, it was the 3 little destructive ones who were full of energy.
I have never been so wiped out in all my life.  

When the stomach flu runs through your house, you learn to just let some things go.  There are emergency messes to clean and a laundry mountain to conquer...and everything else just has to wait. 

At the moment I was not loving the illness...but now that I am on the mend, I can see a little blessing in it all.

I learned to rest.

There was one day when I was too weak to do anything, and I found myself just curled up on the couch with the two sick kids.  We finished reading On the Banks of Plum Creek.  We talked.  We whined.  We laughed.  And we were just family.  No agenda, no homeschool lessons, no chores...I was forced to sit still and in that I truly enjoyed my kids.

It's sad for me to admit that I am home with my kids 24/7 and yet this doesn't happen that often.  I am so busy parenting that sometimes I forget to be the parent.

How much have I missed because I was so concerned with having a clean house or making sure my to-do list was all checked off.

Yesterday, I was in the kitchen and my 9 month old crawled in after me.  She sat up and gave me the biggest smile and the most joyful squeal.  As I stared into her bright eyes and that 3 toothed smile, my heart just melted.  My mind flashed to the day when she would be grown...and gone. 

These busy days seem endless...but they will be gone too soon.  I already see it happening with my older ones.  How did it go by so fast?  I don't want to miss these moments.  Nothing in life is more important than cuddling my babies, hugging my children and thanking God for the time we have. 

And with that, I swooped her up and couldn't let go.  I just held her and kissed those chubby little cheeks.  I want my children to remember these moments.  The times when I choose to stop what I am doing just to give them my full attention.  I want them to feel how important they are.  I want them to know they are loved so deeply.