Life with littles is hard. I find that I am so busy trying to juggle everything, I forget to go to the bathroom. My bladder has become a soldier. My beloved coffee only tastes good reheated so many times and then it loses its luster. My patience, tolerance and calmness only go so far until I can feel the stress creeping up threatening to burst out at any moment. Then my 3 ½ year old asks me to cuddle.
In those moments, time stands still. I don’t have my phone around, I don’t have any distractions. All that lays in front of me is my bright eyed, curious, big loving preschooler who peers into my soul. She asks me questions about when she was in my belly, and when she was a baby. We talk about everything from if Santa knows she wants a princess wand and Owl from Winne the Pooh, to naming everyone in the nativity scene including Jophess (how she says Joseph). These are the moments that put everything back into its tidy place. When my mind threatens to unleash sadness, and worry during the holidays, these moments restore my heart with peace.
Nutcracker Ballet with my big and my hubs.
My husband also loves to take naps. I have never been a nap person…entirely too much to do. I can hardly keep all that I have to do straight and trying to do all that while I have a toddler all over the place is near impossible. Plus, I am pretty sure I have adult ADD, and I have pregnancy brain which turned into mom brain, which turned into chemo brain… so things are slow moving up top. I have a to do list that feels like it hardly gets touched because all the everyday stuff is such a constant, that I barely have room for anything else. I have to be strategic with my time, I pray to be a better steward of my time. My precious hubby is the yin to my yang. He keeps me grounded, when my free spirit floats a little too far out there. It was his last day of school for Christmas break and he was exhausted with all the above. He asked me to put away my phone and just to cuddle with him. Why did this seem so monumental to me? Why on earth would it be so hard to stop and allocate special time with my person? Because we are on earth, and earth tries to threaten our lives with everyday nuisances, potential dangerous idols that will take up our precious time and energy away from what is truly important.
Finally, I put my phone down, I snuggled close to my warm, handsome man and we just laid there in the stillness. For any extroverts like me, you can imagine how difficult this was to just make myself stop. But how important is it for us to just stop? Not to mention how important for us is it to pay attention to what fills up our spouse’s cup? Sometimes we get so caught up in ourselves that we forget it is vital to do what our spouse loves to do…even if it is difficult for us to do. This time of the year is about selflessness, giving back, seeking joy and finding peace. I actually closed my eyes and soaked up that quiet time with my man while our littles napped upstairs. I not only was given some treasurable time with my hubby, but I think I got a cat nap in…which we all know how important sleep is for our health.
This Christmas, even if you are stressed to the max and have a to do list that seems impossible to tackle…if your sweet little or hubby asks you to cuddle…you stop and you cuddle. Be of good cheer everyone!