Embracing the Perpetual, “Hey, Mom!”

We’ve all been there before, right mama? After a long morning of cooking, cleaning, disciplining, and playing Paw Patrol far longer than you would have liked to, you finally sit down to have just a few sacred moments of calm and quiet. That’s where I found myself on a recent afternoon. Then, I heard it ringing in my ears yet again…”Mom! Hey, Mom! Come in here. You’ve got to see this! It’s amazing!” The innocent shouts coming from my dear child suddenly made me want to cry out in frustration and in that moment I had three choices.

One option would be to answer back with the generic response of, “In a minute!,” which I knew would never come. Another option would be to walk into his room with an annoyed tone that conveys I’m clearly not interested in what he had to show me and squelch the wonder of this first time discovery of his. Then, the last option would be to get up and give up.

In saying, “get up,” I literally mean physically rising from my chair and walking into his room. But to “give up,” is an altogether much harder thing to do. It’s giving up my wants and needs for the greater good of my son. It’s giving up the time that I feel entitled to have to myself. It’s giving up the selfishness that can come so natural to me and accepting the fact that intentional motherhood requires sacrifice.

Reluctantly, I got up from my chair and went to see this so called “amazing,” sight. I stood in his doorway and there he sat looking into his terrarium. He beckoned me to come and see his skink and was taken back by the fact that he could keep the lower half of his body buried under the soil and the upper half on top of the surface at the same time. Obviously, this was not new knowledge or a surprise to me. However, because I have always encouraged him to revel in the wonder of nature, I knew I needed to be careful with my response. I briefly observed with him and then said, “Oh, wow, Buddy! That is really neat how he is able to that. God’s creation is  amazing!”

Those two minutes of undistracted interaction satisfied him, and then off I went to enjoy a hot coffee and a favorite book of mine. I walked away with such thankfulness in my heart that God prompted me to get up and give up a little more of myself to my precious boy. It made my quiet time all the more delightful because I could enjoy it with peace of mind instead of being nagged by the subconscious guilt in knowing that I didn’t respond well when he simply just wanted someone to share a special moment with.

I know that things can get messy in the midst of motherhood and I firmly believe that us mamas have to carve out time to renew and refresh our minds on a daily basis. It is vital if we are going to continue giving the best of ourselves to our children and husbands. Today, I just wanted to encourage you to not let that need become so great that you run the risk of being ill-tempered with them if they threaten to take even just the slightest bit of that time from you. (And believe me, if I’m stepping on your toes here, I assure you that mine have already been bruised and broken along the way of learning this lesson.)

It’s the simplest responses to our children, whether kind or unkind that lay the foundation they will build the rest of their lives on. Embrace their need and want of you right now. For these moments with our little ones are fleeting and the day will come when the sweetest sound to our ears will be the phone ringing and the voice on the other end of the line saying, “Hey, Mom!” Suddenly, those words that once triggered exhaustion and exasperation, will be welcomed with wholehearted excitement and exuberance.

Abide in Him Always,

Ashley