Stopping to Smell the Roses
- Stopping to Smell the Roses - July 18, 2017
- Mommy Cliques - July 14, 2015
It was a work day for me, and of course, we were running late. My daughter Addison woke up grumpy and didn’t want to put her shoes on. Chase, my son, was wandering around the house, finding every little piece of anything that he could put into his mouth. I was trying to prepare lunches, pack papers for work, and load the diaper bag. I carried what seemed like a dozen different bags to the car, loaded up the kids, and ran back into the house for the third time to grab the correct pair of shoes for my daughter. Thinking back, I probably mistakenly grabbed matching shoes. She is going through a phase where she likes to wear mismatched shoes.
I raced to my parents’ house to drop off the kids before going to work. First, I let my daughter out of the car. As she walked up the path to the door, I unloaded my son. As I carried the “dozen” bags inside the house, I noticed that Addison was lagging behind. I looked at her and asked her to come quickly inside the house because we were running late. She desperately wanted me to come over to her, but I didn’t have the time, so I hurried her inside the house and rushed off to work.
Later that day I began to reflect on my morning. I was not in a very good mood and I was rather snippy with my kids. Why? Well, of course it was because we were late. If you have never been to Southern California, you probably do not realize that everyone around here is in a hurry. And by hurry, I mean it can feel like a bumper car race or speedway to get anywhere during rush hour.
Again, I had to rethink what I was telling myself. Were we late, or was I late? My kids were not late; they rely completely on me because they are only one and three years old. I was running late. Not only had I not prepared the night before for work, packed lunches, etc., I woke up late. I had created a difficult start to my morning routine.
Then, I remembered back to when I was at my parents’ house. It was early spring and a few flowers were beginning to bloom. Addison has a great love for God’s creation. She loves learning about all the different animals and especially enjoys smelling all kinds of flowers. On this morning, there were some small purple (her favorite color) flowers that had bloomed. She was so excited to show me and have me smell them. Instead of enjoying the special fleeting moment with my sweet girl, I instead rushed her away because I was running late. I missed an opportunity to bond with my baby, an opportunity to let her enjoy God’s beauty and to teach her about changing seasons.
My new perspective is that I am in control of my own thinking. I make the choice to “create a great day.” I have the ability to show my children patience, love, and joy in each day we are blessed with. Next time, I will choose to stop and smell the flowers with my daughter and take in each special moment with her.
How have your children reminded you of God’s beauty?
