Life is not a Race to the End

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I wrote this post in 2015.  And it is fitting, as soon my youngest child and last child living at home will be moving out on his own.   Hubby and I will be turning a new page in our journey of life.  We often ask/say to ourselves,  "Where did the time go!?" and, "It went by too fast!"  ☺  





All my kids in 2002...


I remember getting frustrated in the morning.. I just needed a little coffee before the kids all stared talking to me... just a little.. but no, as soon as they were up they were talking to me.. Sometimes I just needed a few moments of peace and quiet.. they went to bed, the house was quiet, finally.. but I was exhausted.. and went to bed.. no time to enjoy that peace and quiet. I just wanted a few moments to myself.. go to the bathroom.. they knock on the door.. and start talking to me.. I tell them to work on their school .. as soon as I walk out of the room... to put some laundry through.. they suddenly ALL need me.. my life and time was always in demand.. and I just wanted a few moments to myself..

Fast forward .. I now wake up, make my coffee, enjoy peace and quiet, kids gone to work, one still sleeping, I use the bathroom in peace and life is quiet and smooth. And you know what??? I miss those years.

They were busy.. animals to take care of, gardens to plant and harvest and can, driving kids here and there as they try and reach their own goals in life, homeschooling, keeping the house clean, meals to cook, bread to bake. It can make a person feel overwhelmed at times.

But then it seems that suddenly it is over.. the kids are growing and grown and start to move out and begin their own lives. Life settles down and ever so slowly you move into a new season. And you think to yourself.. what was I stressing over? You realize that (as my father in law once said to me).. life is not a race to the end. You wait for some peace and some quiet and just a few moments to think. Then it is there .. and you realize .. you miss those hectic times, those moments when they are all looking at you to make their lives happen.

I miss those mornings when I'd wake up, get my coffee going and have my daughter Emily come downstairs and tell me everything that was on her mind.. at the time.. I'd be like.. wait, dear.. let me wake up.. ~smile~ … but no she had so much to say.. Today, I'd like that again, at least every now and again :) ...

So.. as I move into a different season I can say one thing.. Love, appreciate, enjoy EACH day and each season that you are in. Don't wait for it to change.. embrace it. It will be over before you even know it. In a blink of an eye.. it will all be a memory.. it will be what your life was all about.. it will have been all about them.. and it will have been worth every day, every stressful moment.. every joy, every laugh, every bit of stress and excitement.. because one day.. trust me on this.. it will all be over. And you will move into a new season.

So today mama.. just breathe, just enjoy, just embrace... it's not a race to the end.. hug those babies, laugh with them, talk to them, love them, love your life.. make memories... It will mean everything to you one day...

 
All my kids..  same position in 2012... 

Comments

  1. frugalmavenJanuary 19, 2018 at 7:21 AM

    I'm right there with ya. I have one at home now and two out. The one still at home is on his way out. All three will have started their owns lives soon. I'm proud of them,and happy for them. I do like some aspects of the empty nest, but do miss those times.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Laura of Harvest Lane CottageJanuary 19, 2018 at 10:14 PM

    Oh Crystal, I've been through many of those years with you! I felt many of the same things. Now, life is so strangely different. I have one homeschooling, one who is finishing a homeschool science course and dual enrolled at the college, one in college (all three at home, yet not at home), and one grown and on his own.

    Me? I find myself busy with my breast cancer journey. I've been through chemo, double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery, and now a second round of chemo and radiation.

    Where did my life go? I was so busy surviving? I feel like I missed out on so much. Yet, it's gone, and it cannot be taken back. I remember Trace Atkins song You're Gonna Miss This. I listened and thought I was savoring the time, but I really wasn't getting it like I thought I was.

    At least I homeschooled. I had far more time with my children than most mamas. At least I sat on the couch and read to them. At least I loved them and shared Jesus with them.

    Now it's their turn.

    God bless you Crystal, may God show you what your new path shall be.

    Sincerely,
    Laura Lane

    ReplyDelete

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