Big Breaks

A lot of being a mother involves “to do’s”. From the very beginning when baby arrives in our life, we’ve got a list of things we need to take care of: feeding, changing diapers, bathing, monitoring sleep, comforting… and then there are the things we need to do for ourselves, our spouses, our other children (as the case may be)... the list goes on.

Our days quickly and easily transform into do-this-do-that. One task after another, the hours pass, days pass, and we’re lucky if we get a break during a child’s nap or after bedtime. We may or may not enjoy what we’re doing, but we push forward in robotic fashion, to get through the day.

Somewhere along the line, we may reflect and realize that motherhood is not all cuddly-touchy-feely, and a lot more monotonous than we’d anticipated. And that’s okay, to a degree. Sure, things have to get done in life, but what happened to the romantic-vision of motherhood? What happened to all the excitement? The anticipation of those little fingers and toes? The warm feeling we expected?

It's very important for us to make time to appreciate our kids. We need to take breaks and enjoy the miracles that are in our midst. There will always be more to-do's, but if we don't "stop to smell the roses" then our children will grow up without us having really appreciated who they are. When do you take the breaks? How frequently and for how long? That will depend on your lifestyle and possibilities. But we all should support and encourage each other to spend "quality time" engaged with our children, a break from the go-go-go and do-do-do of everyday life as mommy.