Recognizing Daily Gifts

 Have you ever read The Gift of an Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison?  If you haven't, you must!  A few years ago I heard her read a passage from the book on aYouTube video...I had to read this book!      She talked about how tedious and mundane motherhood rituals could be and explained the importance of recognizing that those details are the things we should be celebrating as mothers.  Savoring.  She learned to appreciate all the tiny details delivered while we are living our lives.  Katrina Kenison came to her "ah-ha moment" (to steal a phrase from Oprah) when her boys were in middle school and high school.  At the time mine were still in elementary school...I felt overjoyed that I still had time...to savor all the little things...to spend more time enjoying the little daily motherly actions that in the past had been overlooked by lack of sleep, overbooked schedules or just daily chores.  I vowed to stop complaining about all the details that made up my day and start recognizing the goodness in daily life as a Mom.



So....fast forward to this past September and my eldest child has a broken arm in a cast...oh...and he had to have surgery to have pins put in place to hold the bone....ouch!  This happened at football practice one Tuesday evening while I was with my daughter at her school's curriculum night.  I will spare you all the details of the evening but suffice it to say Ben was home from school 2 days before he was casted.  Being the paranoid mother I am...I've been driving him to school and picking him up...daily...only to make me feel better (I'm sure he'd have managed on the bus just fine!)  He did, however, tell me just the other day that he will miss me driving him to school when his arm heals.  And I can't lie...I was beaming all day after that one!


        This was a few days after Ben got his first cast.  



 I am so glad I had this time.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not at all glad he broke his arm.  It was painful and there is nothing worse than seeing your child in pain and not being able to do much about it.  But throughout all of this I have learned a few things about Ben and myself that I'd like to share.


The second cast was green...after week 1 they had to remove the case and "reset" the bone...OUCH!


First of all, when in a traumatic situation I am not a panic-er or cry-er.  Throughout the entire ordeal I have rallied to be a strong, positive mother on the outside even though there were times I was quietly sobbing behind closed doors.  I am proud of how I handled the entire situation and I think my strength mixed with extra understanding made things easier on Ben.


This was the second cast...split...see that white line down it?  Two weeks after the accident he had to have surgery to have pins put in...they split his cast and sent us home so he could get on some "comfy" clothes...look at him...he's still smiling and goofing around with me!  



Before surgery and he's still smiling...I just love this kid!  



Secondly, I learned a few things about my first born.  He is a positive child.  He's a leader and not too worried about what others think.  He is innately happy and has a wonderful sense of humor that got us through lots of tough moments throughout this entire fiasco.  He is tough and can suck it up when necessary...I am so PROUD of him!


This is today's cast...PINK...(and shorter...finally!)...in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month!


Finally, I have learned to enjoy the daily shuffling of kids.  Now that mine are both school aged and in various activities I am doing lots of chauffeuring and instead of whining and complaining, I am choosing to use this time with them to bond, talk and connect.  Soon they will be driving themselves to practices or riding with friends and I will miss out on that special time.

At 40 it's important for me to acknowledge that time is fleeting and my full time mother career will come to an end at some point.  I don't want to miss it.  I certainly don't want to waste it.  I chose to pay attention to the details that make up my life.  I chose to celebrate being a mother and be proud of the job I am doing with them.  Most of all I will say yes when they need a ride or want to come with me to the store because that is precious time too!