You are only given 18 years with your children, before they jump out of your nest, run off to college, get real jobs and marry. Then someone else takes care of them. For longer than you get to. Time is so precious. Your children are sponges. Embrace every story they tell. Capture every moment.
(a few photos to add from my session with the W family last night)
Put that iPhone down.
Read them a book.
Chase them around the house.
Tickle them until they toot.
Bake chocolate chip cookies with them.
Let them crack the eggs, drop the shells in the bowl and fish it out together. A little egg shell won’t hurt anyone.
Stop rushing.
Sing loudly in the car together to that teeny bopper song on the radio (that you secretly want to download tonight).
Teach them the alphabet by painting with water on your fence.
One of my favorite memories of my family thus far, (and I’m so happy I got it on video that afternoon), is our kids in the front yard playing with the hose. You know when you’re stressed, and you escape to “that happy place”. Pre-kids, mine was Napili. Sunning on the beach, snorkeling with my husband all day, wearing only a bikini seven days straight and drinking Pog.
That happy place has evolved to a hose + a husband + 2 children. My hubs was watering the garden out front one afternoon, when the kids took over and discovered the “jet” setting on the hose. They took turns nailing him with water as he jumped, danced and we all laughed around the yard. The kids loved it. He loved it. It was bliss. There IS NO BETTER SOUND then the laughter of your children!! …Today is warm enough, right?
I love a good nose-nuzzle.
This story below was posted by a friend of mine on facebook this morning. Thank you Lori Camacho! I just felt compelled to re-post. I look at my own family portraits on my living room wall that we took together in 2010. It feels like SO long ago. The kids face’s were a little more plump, toddler-like. My little guy looks so small, my daughter has gotten taller. I think the hubs and I have gained another gray hair or two. It’s time for new pics.
Capture these moments, parents! Life is so short.
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THE MAYONNAISE JAR + 2 CUPS OF COFFEE
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.
They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else-the small stuff.”
“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.
Take care of the golf balls first. The things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.
The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”
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