Before the thoughts evade me

We're in the middle of a polar vortex that's hit most of the United States. The words seem so gloomy. It is awfully cold, even here in the south. But today, in the middle of this polar vortex, in the middle of what is and has been a chaotic life for the past 3 1/2 years--it hit me. The exact moment was when I was nursing my youngest, my now 8 month-old daughter. She was nursing and falling asleep, beautiful eyes closed, her long eyelashes hitting her cheeks. She was so calm, so perfect. It then hit me: how luck I am to be a part of this moment with her. How many moms don't have the privilege to be nursing their young ones, in the comfort of their home, warm when everything else seems so cold and uninviting. I held her for a few minutes longer, nuzzled against her. Really I was silently thanking her for letting me be with her. I also thanked God for letting me realize what the true gifts in life are. I've been asking for wisdom,  for strength, for patience, for patience, for patience. How many moms don't have the time in their daily chaotic life to realize what precious gifts children give to us in their moments of silence, of sillyness, of brilliance. We live such distracted lives--multi-tasking from one moment to the next. Having to keep a balance between it all. I actually got another present not too long after I put my baby girl to sleep. I went into our kitchen where my middle child was rolling out play-dough shapes. I sat down next to him--dedicated a whole 20 minutes of my time to rolling out play-dough stars. He counted them, 13 of them all!! He counted to 13 all by himself. How wonderful, it's a progress from a little boy who is usually so busy running around dressed up as a superhero. This was his moment of calm, our moment together as mother and son--a quiet time in the middle of this polar vortex. So here I am writting this post, while my baby sleeps and my son eats his peanut butter pretzels. I'll cut it short for now, more thoughts on the great gift of motherhood later. But I wanted to share this with other moms. Motherhood just like most things in life are a series of pieces that have to be fitted correctly in order to solve the puzzle. It's a big one, what truly is the best way to be a mother? A rhetorical question of course, but there are certain things that are better than others. Taking the time to be still with our children is probably something that is underrated, it's importance overlooked by many in our society of overachievers. Thank you Lord for giving me this gift in the beginning of the year when I'm making some decisions about parenting. I promise to cherish these moments of togetherness with my children, I will try not to brush them aside with my To Do list or my appointments. Now I'm headed back to play superhero with my son.