Sam is Jennie's sister and another one of our dear former roommates. She lives in Provo, Utah and recently had a baby girl, who is beautiful like her mom.Do you remember that song by Anna Nalick? My husband claims it’s one of those chick songs that all girls are genetically programmed to like. Anyway, I was up at 2 am with a sick baby the other night and started thinking about that song:
You can’t jump the track, we’re like cars on a cable
And life’s like an hourglass glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button, girl
So cradle your head in your hands
And breathe… Just breathe
Sometimes life gets so overwhelming and you can feel like all you’re doing is trying to catch up. There are days when I wake up and can’t believe that the laundry has stacked up to my knees and the dishes are ALL dirty. Sometimes my husband gets home from work in the evening and I feel horrible because I haven’t done anything – even shower!
Then I remember that I have done something – I’ve played with my little girl. Sometimes she just needs to snuggle or chat and I can’t just ignore that because I’ve got a bathtub to scrub. It’s amazing what children can teach you. My daughter teaches me daily about love and trust. And even if I don’t want to be up at 2 am, the smile I get when she sees me walk into her room makes everything worth it and I’m happy to lose sleep for that smile.
I don’t believe in fate. I believe in a kind and compassionate God who has plans for us. That said, I also believe that we can make our own decisions. Life, though, is like an hour glass and we can’t get our time back simply by wishing it. So, then, if you’ve spent the day playing with your new baby, or reading a good book, or catching up with an old friend, or gone shopping at the mall with your sister, isn’t that a better use of your “sand” than washing dishes, folding laundry, and cleaning a toilet? When you look back through your journal or your scrapbook or your memories are you more likely to smile at the jokes shared at lunch with friends or the freshly vacuumed and picked up living room? Are you more likely to think fondly of the hours spent playing a board game with your family or the clean dishes?
When you wake up tomorrow and find that something in your house isn’t perfect, just breathe… And remember all the fun you had today making memories that will last.
4 comments:
What great inspiration! My husband and I are currently crammed into a small bedroom in my parents basement, waiting for just a few more weeks till we can close on our house. I've never been so stressed out, when every morning I wake up and our whole life is spread out all over the room. It's hard to pack a house into one room! My husband tries to get me to just breathe all the time... I have a hard time! I'm grateful for people like you and him who are wise enough to realize that sometimes life is just going to be messy, and we've just gotta remember that people are more important than things. and also, one of my favorite quotes is from a book of scripture 'let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power...'. I can't fix the world, and I should defiantly not stress out about it, just I should do what lies in my power and find joy and make memories everyday! Anyway, Thank you for your post!!
I love this post, Sam! This is exactly the kind of thing I've been trying to learn in the past few months.
I watched The Road to El Dorado with my niece last night, and you know how there's a part where they are stranded on the ocean in a rowboat, and they think they're about to die? And the blonde guy asks the other one if he has any regrets, and the other guy says, "Yes... I never had enough gold."
Of course the reason that's funny is that everyone knows that when you get to the end of your life, the last thing you care about is all the tedious little temporal concerns that you were so stressed about all the time. So if you know those things aren't going to matter in the end, why not stop worrying about them so much, and focus instead on the things that do matter?
Thank you for your perspective! I was just feeling terrible last night because I didn't do my dishes or clean the kitchen floor, but I did go to Cafe Rio with my husband and fall asleep while watching the princess diaries (much better use of my time:))
Sam,
I know how you feel! I'm not yet a mommy, but I work a 9-5, run a small business on the weekends, AND my husband is a full time PhD student. It is hard to keep your feet on the ground, but sometimes reminding ourselves of our daily miracles is what does it! I don't wish my "sand" to move any differently than it does right now. There is always a lesson in the, "here and now" of our lives, and I intend on learning what that is!
Good for you, girlie! :o) Thanks for the uplifting post!
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