My New Motto

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the talk by M Russell Ballard from conference. I have been reading and rereading it these last few days. I really think he had me in mind when he gave this talk. The part that sticks out to me most is this:

"Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.

Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”

So, this is my new motto "Find joy in the moments. Treasure the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less." Too many times I get wrapped up in the day to day activites and crossing things off my to do list. I almost cried the other day when I looked at my oldest son, who is 8, and my baby girl, who is almost 1 and thought to myself "When did they get so big?" Sometimes the days stretch on and on forever and then you look around and wonder where all the time went. All too soon my children will be grown and gone, so right now I need to make the most of the moments.