Live in the Moment and We Can All Live Better

This week at the Shirley-Smith house it has been a bit stressful.  My 4 year old has been so sick that, at times, I have been unsure if she was going to be able to take her next full breath.  My best friend, who I have known since childhood, has been in the hospital with pneumonia and a compromised immune system from a previous cancer treatment.  My mother is going into the hospital tomorrow for tests to make sure her heart is okay.  My "Big, Middle, Little" girl is having a birthday tomorrow complete with a sleepover party at our house Saturday.  My Big girlie has her Orchestra competition I am chaperoning for and oh yeah my hubby lost his job a few weeks back.  Can any of you relate?
So I am sitting here working and my sick little girl comes out of her bedroom choking and unable to catch her breath.  My hubby and I take care of her by sitting in the bathroom with the hot shower running and dosing her up on a bit of cough meds (which I HATE).  After a while, I carry her back to her room.  I lay her in her bed and she says in her sweet, scratchy, sick little girl voice, "I sure wish you could lay with me."  Of course I lay with her with all of the worries of life swirling through my head.  I am still thinking, thinking, thinking...

We are face to face and I can smell her sweet breathe and feel it on my face.  I think how sweet and wonderful she is and I think of how many times throughout the day I did not give her my all.  I work constantly, I take care of the household and my other girls with all of their activities and girl dramas.  I do not always measure up to my idea of SuperMom.  I do not measure up.  How can any of us measure up if our ruler is a world built on instant gratification where every messages we receive through the media is about how much you have and what you want to buy next.  Giving has taken a backseat to "what's in it for me?".  

But when I felt my sweet little baby's breath against my face, and looked into her "direct from Heaven" face, I somehow found the "moment".  I cherished the love, I cherished her, I measured up because I am blessed to be her mother.

I got up to leave her bed and when I did, she looked up at me, smiled and just said, "I love you.".  The memory of that moment will get me through to my next.

Hang onto your moments wherever they come from.  Life is hard for so many these days.  Life breaks us.  We must all never forget to find the treasure in ourselves and in other people.  If we can value ourselves and each other, we can tap into our reserves of love, care and compassion and find our way through all of the moments of our days to a better world for all of us.

Click  HERE to join our green living, online community!

2 comments:

  1. Moments are what life is made of. This was so sweet, Shane, i am wiping a tear from my eye. Thanks for sharing, and not measuring the way others seem to. It's not about me, right? It is about giving what we have to make the world a better place, not raping it to get what we want in total disregard for what it costs others, both in the present and in the future. Thanks for caring.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am glad you are with me on this. It is always rush, rush, rush and we miss the important things as they may seem small. Feeling those moments is so important to our collective heartbeat. There are so many that care and we must continue to remember that. We are not alone in caring about our future.

    ReplyDelete

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead