“Mama sit down.” These are the famous words I hear at 8:02 every evening. When I am spent. Every ounce of my energy has been zapped, every morsel of anything left to give has been dried up. I. Am. Done.
And yet, mothering is never done.
Each night when I put my 2 ½ year old in her bed, she says to me, “I have to go potty.”
I am immediately filled with dread.
My inner monologue begins:" Why? Why now? Do I have to take her to the bathroom? Of course, you have to take her to the bathroom, she is learning how to potty train. AGH. I want to go sit down."
Alas, I scoop her up and into the bathroom we go.
I get her on the potty and she says to me, “Mama sit down.” And points to the edge of the bathtub.
Now here is where I am given a fork in the road of momming… I could sit or I could let my frustration-overload-meter tilt into overdone and lose my cool.
I regret, it has gone both ways. And I beat myself up every time. #momguilt
But most times I sit. And when I sit, I am blessed with the tellings of my little girl's soul. Conversations I can't even begin to sum up. Quintessentially those moments that I will look back on with tears in my eyes as my little girl is no longer looking at me with those deep blue eyes full of wonder.
My baby chatters on about her day, she prays for me, she shares her tales…
These moments are what is most important about childhood and motherhood. We don’t get these moments forever.
So why, why do we let our earthly frustration get the better of us and not let us sit down and just be? If I said no, if I got mad, if I tried to busy myself with "other things" look what I would miss out on... I would miss out on life. The best parts that life can give.
Tonight mamas, just be. Let those darlings talk to you until they have nothing left to say. Don't rush, just be. I know it can be so hard, the pull to do all of the things, but try not to let it lure you. This where you are supposed to be.