I had been making stir-fry as one of the meals for the coming week. I sat my baby down nearby on the floor so she could play. She had been sick and I knew I was in a crunch for time between me putting her on the floor and when she would begin to cry. I quickly grabbed a few toys: a dog on wheels, some nesting bowls, and a play pepper shaker. I just needed a few moments so I could get the food in proper storage containers and I was hoping that would hold her. For added insurance, I called my oldest daughter in to help me put things away so I could get to the baby sooner. As we worked together, the baby began to fret a little. I quickly glanced over to be sure she was safe and once I okayed that, the first thing I thought was: Go, go, go! Work faster! Your time just got really short!
After a few more seconds, my daughter glanced over and noticed the baby’s little toy dog was just out of her reach. She stopped scooping up rice, knelt down and strung out a few sweet, sisterly words and pushed the toy to the baby. Baby smiled and all was right in the world–well, at least in our kitchen.
It was such a sweet reminder to me to never be too busy serving my family, that I’m too busy for my family.
Running a household is a full-time labor of love that never, ever ends. Someone will always need help, food will always need preparation, something will always require more cleaning… and so it goes. While this precious task requires time, attention to detail, and daily diligence, may we not forget what’s most important: the people.
Time is tricky. We often think we have lots of it. We feel it’s sprawling out before us and that we can get to this or that later. Truth is, time won’t stop, and the little people in your home change and become big people. Time won’t stop, but we can. We can stop today, in the moment, in the middle of all our busyness, to really see the people in our homes.
Take time to push the toy.
