I saw a picture of a friend of mine hugging her five year old son as I was scrolling through my Facebook feed. I’m sure that you’ve seen photos like that too…
Just a sweet mom hugging her child.
But, this time I stopped and stared at it.
Not because it was an emotional picture. In fact, it was really quite ordinary. They had red eye and all.
But, I stared at the photo because I knew that the hug with her son had made all the difference in her day. I could just see it on her face. Have you been there too?
You’ve had a stressful day, you’re tired and looking at a mound of dishes, but a hug from your kid? It’s a brief moment when you get to forget the stress and feel good – even for just a minute.
When I saw that picture of my friend, I knew that she treasured that moment more than any other moment in her day because she got to feel this…
Whether you’re a working mom, a stay at home mom, a single mom, another-label-that-we-call-ourselves mom, we all want one thing…
And, it’s the one thing that I saw when I looked at my friend’s picture with her son:
She and her son felt connected.
Not just a quick hug or a tiny smile, this was a full bodied, I love you more than anything hug. And, I could see from her face that it meant everything to her.
It Doesn’t Take a lot to Feel Connected…
Sometimes we feel connected with our kids in other ways too. Like when they give us a simple smile.
Or, when they hold our hand.
You might feel it when you snuggle with them before they drift off to sleep.
Or, when you can’t stop laughing together.
It’s that feeling..
The feeling that reminds us of when they were babies.
When things were simple and the smell of their skin was the best thing in the world. When snuggling was a requirement and Mommy made everything better just by being in the room.
When babyhood fades, Motherhood changes a bit.
The smell of their skin reminds us that it’s laundry day and time to take a bath. Snuggling may or may not happen because bedtime is busier and faster – in fact, it all seems to speed up after they’re babies doesn’t it?
And, when we walk in the room, it’s normally to talk about something that they need to do – whether that be dinner time, getting dressed, or jumping in the bath. There is always so many other things to do than to have a meaningful connection.
As my kids get older, I’m seeing how that it takes effort on my part to make connections with each other my kids because as they get older, life gets faster.
And, it’s easy to miss that simple smile that our kids give us.
Or, we don’t hear the thank you from our kids after dinner.
We don’t notice how their little hand feels as they hold ours while they walk.
Or, we don’t stop to appreciate their adorable, full-bodied belly laugh.
Because there is just so much to do.
But, We’ve Got to Make an Effort to Stop Anyway…
I think I started my friend’s picture because I saw what it is that makes Motherhood so meaningful.
Because it reminded me that connection happens in those little moments – like when our kids come to give us a hug and we actually pay attention and hug them back.
Or when they offer a simple smile and we smile back.
A little thank you, Mom, and we say you’re welcome, son.
A sweet snuggle and we snuggle back.
Or, shared laughter when we have a full-bodied belly laugh too.
I realized when I saw that picture, that we are just a responsible for those little connections.
Because when we make connections back, when we show up and stop for a moment to notice our kids, those connections start happening regularly.
It’s about connection.
It’s about love.
It’s about joy.
It’s about treasuring moments with your kids more than any other moment in the day.
It really is that simple.
bucks county mom says
So true. It’s all fleeting, every precious second of it. It’s so easy to get too busy to appreciate life. Thanks for the reminder.