Every now and again I am reminded just how much I enjoy the little things of my life, things like quiet moments in the morning with coffee and prayer or watching the birds flit to and fro at our backyard feeders or simply having a conversation with one of my teenagers. Spending time individually with each teen daughter is important to me. It doesn’t have to be a major pre-planned outing or lengthy opportunity. Often, I cherish the more spontaneous moments daily life provides, moments that help nurture the relationship we already share. Often, when I walk away from those unplanned conversations, I experience a deep-seeded sense of joy; I like the way that joy bubbles up in my heart and helps propel me forward into my next task.
In recent days, I have enjoyed several such seemingly minor moments, whether a shared exploration of an unschooling topic, like snow crystals and the biggest snowflake ever recorded (it was 15” by the way), or a reminiscence of a forgotten childhood memory, like a favorite television show or stuffed animal or an activity expired but now long-since abandoned. I tend to treasure these smaller moments of connection because they reveal to me in small but significant ways my teenagers are growing and changing and we don’t often see those more imperceptible changes. Typically, as parents, we move along life’s journey with our children, then tweens, then teens and marvel at how quickly it has all changed. But in these small moments, I get to take a short breather and see, really see, who these amazing young women are becoming.
We all know life is filled with busyness and To Do lists and chores and we often move from one task to the next without pause. I am grateful my life allows for the pauses. I am grateful I am learning to listen to the whisper of God reminding me to slow down and take a look around, take stock of my life in that moment. Because that’s what life truly is. It is a series of moments. It is a series of connections.
Life truly is the relationships we share and as I move through our days, I am grateful for the whispered Voice, the nudge of the Spirit, prompting me to slow down and notice, truly notice, these two incredible teenagers. To listen to them. To make space for them. To make time for them. To laugh with them. Those are the roots of joy that sustain my sense of contentment.
We have birthdays coming up for all three of us, kicked off by the 16 year old, followed the very next day by me, and then closed out one month later by the 14 year old. My husband’s birthday gives us a celebration much later in the year, in October. These early months are all us girls. Celebrating each of us is another tendril of the joy that grows down deep within my heart and soul.
But while those kinds of celebrations are exciting because they are bigger and come only once a year, I revel in the daily celebrations. I revel in the small moments of connection and conversations where we talk about snowflakes and black holes and a current special interest and a favorite music group. I hold those moments gently because I recognize their fragility; they are like those snowflakes my 14 year old and I talked about earlier today, held for a moment before melting into the next one.
People often say parenting is not for the faint of heart and I tend to agree with that. But sometimes, that faintness of heart is in the delight and the relationship I get to have with each of these delightful young women. The faintness is in the idea that all the hard work and investing in these two people is slowly evolving into a beautiful tapestry of life and curiosity and laughter and love. It is breathtakingly, achingly beautiful. And that is definitely not for the faint of heart, my friends.