leaves

I got some good advice from a great mother recently: have fun and remember to smell the roses with your little one(s).

Life can get kind of crazy. I worked a full shift on Thursday night, and had to wake up as a mommy after 2 hours of sleep Friday morning when Jeremy went to work. e v e r y t h i n g  was getting under my skin. Amelia had a poopy diaper, the bag of diapers on our steps was full, our family room was tornadoed by toys, dishes in the sink, no smoothies in the fridge, no veggies stocked up for dinner. Finally, I yell at Amelia.

And then I broke down, got on my knees, and prayed. I prayed for the energy to be a good mother. I prayed for patience. I prayed for my working husband. I prayed for everything to be alright. and then I got up, inhaled a drop of orange oil, and everything was fine.

When the sun came out in the afternoon, Amelia and I took a walk around our neighborhood. She loves her leaves; she picks them out, one by one, and carries them in her other arm (we may need to get a little basket). Sometimes, her hands are too full to hold mine and that's okay. Because, she usually finds a way to organize her leaves, reach and ask, "hand?" We sit on the side-walk together, waiting for dad. She gives me lots of kisses, like she usually does. She lays her leaves down in a row and tries to count them before a gust of wind blew them away. She always gives me a leaf, and that melts me.

I can't explain why little moments like this mean so much to me. Sometimes, being a mom can really hard, and sometimes I'm not very patient. I try to remember that she won't always need me, she won't always fit on my hip, she won't always tug at my leg. I try my very hardest.

And I am most definitely blessed.