My husband started crying first the day we dropped off my daughter Christa at college. The sight of my manly man crying sent me over the edge and the tears began flowing out of my eyes. Before our goodbyes were over, there was a group of us standing there in a puddle of tears while standing in the school’s dining hall.
On the drive home that day, through bittersweet tears, I thought about how nice it would be to turn back time and go back to the days when life was chaotic with the dirty footprints that were tracked all over the carpet and the neighborhood kids gathering at our house to play and the piles of laundry that never seemed to go away completely.
It wasn’t easy, but it was worth all the chaos. Those years of having little whining voices and toys strewn everywhere will be forever etched on my heart as cherished, joyous, glorious memories.
Now my daughter is a college graduate and her brother is a junior in high school. Things are quieter. The laundry is easier to manage. Life is not nearly as hectic. It seems like yesterday those two bundles of joy arrived. I am grateful that I left the corporate world and poured myself into motherhood. The rewards are greater than any other job on Earth.
To all the mothers of younger children, my words of wisdom would be: Enjoy the laundry. Savor every messy moment. It will all be over in an instant, and you’ll be saying the same thing I am saying today, “How did all those years go by so quickly?”
I’m linking up for Five Minute Friday where Lisa Jo Baker and other awesome people write for five minutes flat with no self critiquing or no striving for perfection. This week’s prompt is: “Laundry.” Forgive me for going over the time limit again by about ten minutes.
Hi Amy Lynne! Just passing through from the FMF linkup. I’m glad the laundry gets easier to manage. My kids are still little (I have 3 girls + 1 surprise on the way), but they’re trying to help me in their own way. I’m looking forward to the day when they can do their own though–ha ha! In the meantime, I’m enjoying this temporary stage 🙂
Thank you, Sabrina, for stopping by and leaving a comment. You are blessed to have such a full house of little ones. Keep enjoying these precious days with them. 🙂
Isn’t it always the trick of contentment, that is so difficult, to enjoy the day, the MOMENT, the LIFE right in front of us? Thanks for the reminder, even though I don’t have kids 🙂
Thank you, Natalie, for your comment. Living in the moment can indeed be tricky at times, but if we’re intentional about it we can live abundantly through all of life. 🙂
What a sweet reminder of how what we are doing matters so very much. Thank you.
Thank you, Patty, for your kind comment. Have a blessed weekend!
Returning the visit from FMF. I will try to savor the messes, but the laundry will be harder! I am sure that you are right, however, and that I will miss it someday. Thanks for the point of view from a different place in mothering!
Thank you, Rachael, for your comment. I doubt that you’ll miss the laundry, but as mothers, I think we will all look back with gratitude for all those years when our children were young and needed our undivided attention and required us to use an abundance of energy caring for their needs. 🙂