In light of the past 18 months being rather difficult at times for our family due to my husband having to travel more regularly for work than usual, and couple that with having 4 small children to care for -it has been tough season. The taxing side of having small children in your home seems to be exaggerated when one of the parents has to be gone for extended periods of time, and I have come to know this full well. I have my days that seem nothing short of impossible while trying to juggle the needs of all the kids under my care. So, I thought I would take some time to focus on the good we have so much of in our home. Here are some reasons I can LOVE the season of having littles at home.
I really LOVE that I get to have the most influence over them right now. I know now, that from the moment your child hits the school age years, your influence as parents (slowly) begins to decline. Right now, the majority of things they learn come straight from my husband and myself. We are able to establish the values and morals we see fit for our home. We get to really emphasize what is true, and real, and important - and during these little years they absorb these things from us without much question or hesitation. I love that now, when one of my girls has a question about something, or wants to understand something more, my husband or myself are clearly the most logical people to go to with their wonderings. We are like experts to them (oh I hate how this will one day change!) at this age, and we have the freedom to answer them in a way that can shape their view of the world - and I feel like that sets up a foundation that isn't easily wavered from in their older years. So often this responsibility can be daunting and a little terrifying, but for my girls - Tyler and I are the right people for the job.
I LOVE that they think we are awesome (I REALLY hate that this also will one day change). They are happy to see us 99.9% of the time. They love to sit next to one of us when we are in the same room with them. Their little hearts seem to skip a beat or two when we arrive to pick them up from school or the church nursery. They wake up in the morning thrilled to see us. They are so elated when we just stop and give them our time. They will beam with pure pride when they have our approval over something they have done, and they are devastated if they feel like they let us down in some way. They want to be like us. They imitate the things we do and say because clearly we are worthy of that, right? In their eyes, we do no wrong during these years! Even when I am in a hurry to drop them off at Sunday school or even with a grandparent - it touches my heart when they fuss a little bit because they know I'm not staying around for a little bit. We get to be the preferred one most of the time! When the girls get hurt, or are angry and needing comfort - Tyler or I are the only ones that will do (its a close race between one of us and the blankee, if we are being totally honest though). It is a real gift to be able to be someones greatest source of comfort - and during these trying young years - that is what we are to them! My prayer is that one day when they fully understand the depth of God's love and invite the Lord to be their constant guide, that he will be their greatest source of comfort. I will be delighted to hand that and their hearts to him one day. It feels good to be so loved like this, and I know that while they will always love us, one day - they won't express it as freely and openly as they do now.
Some days are really hard, and it seems impossible for me to think about the things that I love about this season of parenting. Oh, and trust me, I don't "cherish" every little thing about having lots of littles at home - because really there are a lot of things that should just never be cherished (hello cleaning poop out of the bathtub). I do think its important though for my state of mind to relish in what this season has to offer me and how it can grow me. It is these things I have written about today that make me feel inspired to carry on in the dirty work of parenting the at-home littles.
1 comment:
Beautiful! Thanks for reminding us about the blessing of this season of "littles!" I especially love your mention of being their source of comfort until they accept God as their ultimate comforter!
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