Perspective

Do you get a lump in your throat when you check on your kids at night after they've fallen asleep? I am always over- whelmed with feelings of love and gratitude. Here are our kids crashed out at the hotel last weekend.

A wise person once said, "Don't sweat the small stuff". I am convinced that this is much easier said than done.

I know how to handle the big stuff without losing my cool. My son may have an autistic meltdown in a very public place, and I can be soothing and resourceful. My husband or I are asked to do something overwhelming for church and I handle it with aplomb (and lots of prayer). Financial trials? Not worth freaking out over.

If I can handle these tough situations and more, why is it that finding my daughter digging through my purse with an entire pack of gum in her mouth threatens to send me over the edge? Everyone simultaneously shouting out their "order" for "more milk, please," "can I have a sandwich?" "I don't like cheese!" and "I need to go tinkle NOW" feels like more than I can bear. And if you ever see on the six o'clock news that I have gone postal, it will probably be because I tripped on my kids' shoes in the middle of the floor one too many times!

I know that I need to just relax and not let the little, everyday annoyances get to me. I envy people who seem to have such a zen-like quality to their mothering. And I pray many times a day for patience and clarity of thought as I care for these precious little ones. If I can just remember that my kids are my priority over a clean house, personal space, and peace & quiet, then we will all be better off. (Although please tell me that there is a way to have both! At least sometimes!)

Recently, my friend, Morgan from One More Moore, shared a quote on her blog:

"Above all else, children need to know and feel they are loved, wanted, and appreciated. They need to be assured of that often. Obviously, this is a role parents should fill, and most often the mother can do it best.--Ezra Taft Benson

I loved the quote, but even more, I loved what Morgan said: "On the most challenging of days, I am most certain that if all I have to give is that, I can do it."

That gave me food for thought. I think that on my most challeng -ing of days, my children's sense of love and well-being is not on my mind at all. I'm all about survival, about getting through all the things that have to be done. If anything, I find myself resenting when they need me ("Don't they realize how much I have to do today?") I want a paradigm shift so that I truly have the sense that the most important thing I can do each day is to make sure that my kids know that they are loved, wanted, and appreciated. Let everything else fall where it may, and don't sweat the small stuff.

How do you keep the right perspective in your mothering? Please share with me!!!!