Slow and Simple

My children have taught me many things, and, by the time you get to the third, you would think the basic lessons would have been learned.  And, it is true, this time when Oliver's cord was gross, I didn't freak out.  Also, when they discharged me from the hospital, I wasn't terrified.

But it has taken me three children for a very basic concept to sink in.  Having a baby slows you down.  Seems obvious, right?  Not to me.  I can clearly remember nursing Laine and putting him in a swing to fall asleep while I returned to tasks.  I would be utterly frustrated to find that my dearest darling would not slip quietly to sleep while I crossed things off my over-zealous todo list.  I felt like I just could not get anything done.  When Annabel came along, I had the same frustration, but I was also trying to put everything I owned in a box, so there was a great deal of desperation included.

Oliver, sweet, simple, dear child, you have taught your mama to slow down and notice the sweetness of your little milk faces.  Did you know if you sit quietly with your baby after nursing and rock them to sleep they will rest nicely for long enough to start diapers or load and unload the dishwasher?  

So, there are dishes in my sink, toys on my floor, leaves on my lawn and the laundry is barely managed, but I love his milk faces.  I am also finding that Laine and Annabel are way more impressed with a read story than a completed todo.  

Balance.  I know I have to get some of those pesky tasks done, but I thank my little Oliver for teaching me that the most important things I do each day are hugging and cuddling and loving.  It takes an effort to quiet the task driven voice that demands that each moment be used "productively," but I just have to remind it that determining productivity is dependent on what one wants to produce.  Right now, I am hoping to produce bright, interested children who know their mother respects them, so I might just have to be satisfied with letting those dishes go once in a while...