In the moment

A letter to my husband (and a reminder for me):

I love you! I love us! I love our special alone time in the evenings, when the kids are in bed and every once in a while when we get together for lunch!

Our kids take so much of me, of us. I know I don't give enough to you and when I finally have time, I'm exhausted. This is our life. This is the life we chose. We need to count the minutes we do get and know that we are doing all of this for our kids and for our family.

But when we are together, with this kids, can you be in the moment with me, with them? I know you are distracted. I am too. However, we both need to be there. We have so little time. With our crazy schedules, school and more, we have HOURS in any given week, to be intentional with our kids, our family and us.

My mind races thinking about schedules, activities, meal planning, and just parenting in general. Reading articles, trying to be the best mom I can be and make the best decisions for our kids and our family. I think about experiences, education, how to raise well-rounded, responsible children. I think about work, my career, my hopes and dreams for myself, for us.

You, I love it when you are there! But sometimes we need all of you. You are often quiet, talking about work, talking about some random thought that we struggle to follow or you are just plain distracted. We all have other things going on, let's save those distractions for our time or just be mindful about what we share. Let's ensure our kids understand our roles at work, in society and in the world. Let's share our concerns about life but not take away from the everyday moments with them.

Let's do this. Let's be in the moment....the good, the bad, the ugly. Let's be there for our kids, exemplifying all that we want for our kids. Do you remember the phrase "more is caught than taught"? Let's show happiness, because we are. Let's show LOVE, because we do. Let's show what it means to be with someone, in the moment, to communicate, to acknowledge them, to make them feel special, important and significant. Let's let them explore their ideas and not always contradict them with the way of the world. Let's focus our attention, let's be diligent and deliberate. Let's minimize the yelling, they learn, they do. Let's minimize the distractions, they learn, they do. Let's maximize the moment, they learn, they do. And finally, let's maximize the hugs, they learn, they do.