From the Hands-Free Mama, who inspires me, this is what I would have written yesterday if I were that awesome:
I vividly remember the day I stopped wishing away time. My daughter had just picked a dandelion and was studying it intently.
“If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?” I asked curiously anticipating what my then four-year-old child would say. I expected her response to be a place with sea shells, princesses, cotton candy, or Toy Story characters. But what she said left me speechless and a bit enamored with her.
“Picking dandelions with you,” she replied without a moment’s hesitation.
Out of any place in the world she could dream of being, my child chose to be right where she was in that very moment.
As my eyes filled with tears, I could recall too many unsettling lines that had come from my lips…
“ I can't wait for school to start.”
“I wish the warmer weather would finally get here.”
“When is it going to be Friday? This week is killing me.”
“Once I get through this busy month, we'll do something fun as a family.”
“I can’t wait for her to be able to ride in the booster seat.”
“I look forward to the day she stops sucking her thumb.”
To put it bluntly, I wished time away.
Because in this fast-paced, task-driven world, slowing down takes effort. Allowing myself to simply BE in the moment at hand is a rare and beautiful gift.
How easily I forget that there is no guarantee that tomorrow will even come. Or that tomorrow will be as good as it is today.
Today, I have my health, my happiness, and my security. But there will come a day when I won’t. Why ask for that heartbreaking day to be here any sooner?
Thanks to the wisdom of child and the beauty of a dandelion, things are different now. Instead of wishing time away, I find myself hoping time would stand still … so I could savor it just a little more.
Rachel Macy Stafford©
(including photo credit)
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