Small Moments

I had some time to kill today while Lucy was at preschool. Not enough time to try on clothes at Macy's or get to the library and back, but a little window nontheless. So Mathilda and I hung out at Atlanta Bread, where I semi-guiltily enjoyed a chocolate croissant and a large hot chocolate. Mathilda had Cheerios and was none the wiser that she was totally missing out. We quietly enjoyed each other's company. When we were done with our snack we slowly made our way through Barnes and Noble, where I made mental notes of books I want to check out from the library because I'm too cheap and broke to buy them. It was a nice, quiet morning. I was reminded of similar times with Connor and Lucy while their older siblings were in preschool. A stroll around the neighborhood, window shopping, a visit to the park on a nice day...a little bit of "only child" time. I absolutely cherish these moments.

With four kids, alone time with any of them is pretty rare. Plus I'm always in a hurry to get someplace and always have ten million things to do. I try to remember to appreciate small moments that give me the opportunity to be with one of them...a short drive, a conversation while the other kids are still asleep, a cuddle after a bad dream...these moments add up to knowing my kids a little better. They still want to be with me, and those days are probably numbered, so I better take full advantage of them. If I'm not completely present in their lives, I'll wake up one day and they'll all be married or off to college and I won't know what hit me. I guess that is going to happen regardless, but I have to believe it'll be better for all of us if we create lots of memories together along the way, even small ones.