enjoy these moments

we just got back from the store getting ready for our big road trip adventure to Arizona and California to see my brother-in-law & best friend get married.

while we were there, we got stopped by 3 different older ladies
who LOVED to talk!

{we also randomly ran into Adam’s aunt but she is not included in the 3 ladies aforementioned}

all three of them just loved little Elijah man
{who wouldn’t?}
and all three talked about how the moments with him will go by way too fast

one lady in particular came up to me while i was holding Elijah and reached out to hold him
Eli was grumpy and tired and was not wanting to be held by her
[and honestly, she looked so frail and fragile that i was afraid she would get crushed by him!]

she then told me in her thick German accent how precious children are
and how i should ENJOY him now before he grows up and the time is gone.

she then continued to tell me about her children and how much she loved each one
her daughter started walking and climbing at 9 months and would climb up on top of their piano
and pose!
{loved that!}

i commented,
“oh sounds like she was a lot of work since she was climbing so early!”

and she said,
“no! no! i loved it! i loved those moments with them!”

then she told me how she loved & kissed & hugged her son as much as she could while he was growing up even though her mother-in-law thought it would turn him into a “sissy”

she told me,
“loving him won’t turn him into a sissy! he will still grow up to be a man. but will know he was well loved!”

when we left, i was thinking how much those women maybe needed us to be kind and talk to them because maybe they were lonely. but after reflecting on what this one woman told me, i realized
i needed them!

i needed that encouragement
that kindness
that love
that reminder

i do love my son
but being a mom is hard and tiring
and some days i just can’t wait until he can actually talk and understand things better

but i think sometimes i forget to actually enjoy the moments i have with him
to smother him with kisses all day instead of being concerned about teaching him to clean up
or to sit there and take in his features that make him so unique
or even just to LAUGH more at his crazy antics instead of being frustrated with him sometimes

yep.
it was a very important lesson that i needed to learn today
{on the eve of our long, tiring, and sure to be frustrating car drive}

thank you for reminding me to enjoy these moments!

 

linking up here.