The saying goes "stop and smell the roses." I attempt to take a moment, or as many as I can, to appreciate the things in my daily life and the many little miracles (example: My son only needed eight stitches after that fall=awesome. Things were a lot worse for the kid in the ER room next to us). However there have been many times in my life where the roses MAKE me stop to smell them and appreciate them.
We have been busy this summer. Between our busy work weeks, birthday's, errands, road trips, and every day life getting in the way, I was fully made aware of how little I've fully gotten the chance to push every worry aside and enjoy things. For every day out or road trip we've had, there's the worry of packing everything three kids may need for our day or on the road. There's the worry of making sure no one kills themselves on one of our hikes. There's watching the clock making sure meals or naps aren't missed.
One night this week, the boys were having a hard time falling asleep. Usually I stick to my guns: "stay in bed, no talking, no moving around, no playing with toys, go to sleep!" On this particular night, I told the boys "come on out, you're not sleeping anyways." Even as I said that, my only thought was 'what the hell am I thinking??!!? I'm sooo going to pay for this tomorrow when they're overly tired and cranky!' My initial thought was to read another bedtime story with them, but I went a step further and said "do you want to go outside and play?" My oldest responded "you mean in the dark? You're going to let us play outside, in the dark?" He probably thought I was drunk.
So, the boys, Matt (the hubs), and myself made our way to the backyard. The boys played flashlight tag and swung on their swings. We got into a running around the house, inside/outside game of hide n' seek with flashlights until 10:15 at night. I haven't laughed that much since our family balloon fight we had one evening earlier in the summer. I'm typically laughing at something funny on of kids says or does. This time I was truly laughing because we were having a great time, spending quality time together.
I don't know if the boys will remember this night or not. If they'll remember it as the night mom went crazy or if they'll remember the fun we had. I know I will take that night and tuck it away tight in my cherished memories. I'll remember the waves of laughter and happiness as they rushed through me. I'll remember my boy's laughter and giggles. I'll remember their screams when I jumped out at them from my hiding place. I'll remember their shock that I was letting them do something so out of the ordinary. I'll remember this the next time I'm ready to kill them for whatever reason (today it was due to a giant balloon being smashed in my face by my middle child).
Thank you roses for making me smell you. You smelled like magic.
