Time really does fly. It’s funny when I think back to the days when I was a kid and how even an hour felt like an eternity. As I got older and was in high school, a month felt like a life time. Being 40 and a mom to two teenage girls, the saying really resonates with me. I look back at my girls and what seems like yesterday was years ago now.
Prioritizing Family Time with My Girls
Thinking back to the moment I found out I was pregnant with Gabi, my now 15 year old, I remember the overwhelming feeling of excitement. From the time I can remember playing house, I always wanted to be a mom. Those nights of little to no sleep of making sure she was breathing with her in a co-sleeper next to my side of the bed WITH a monitor so close to her face I could see the lights go up and down from her breathing, to her first words, first steps…it just doesn’t seem that long ago.
Then we welcomed her little sister, which even today, I can feel my eyes filling up with tears as I think about waking her at about 4:30 in the morning to introduce her to her new baby sister. My heart melting when her first words were, “she’s and angel”. Sigh…such a sweet moment, and again, one that seems like just a short time ago. Madi is now 13.
Juggling life is always a challenge. When you factor in school, work, sports, friends, family, holidays, travel, holidays, health…you get the picture. Everyone running in a million different directions. We all live it, right? Just a few days ago a friend of mine and I were talking about those challenges and she said something that was really great. She was talking about her life growing up and how it too was always busy. Dinner time just wasn’t one of those family times they could all connect, especially as they got older. Because of this, her family made a point that every morning they would spend breakfast together. They would start the day off with each other, sharing what the day would bring, just to connect before the busyness of life took over.
This was big for me, for I had just been up early that morning preparing for my day full of meetings. I am usually able to steal an extra hour of sleep as the girls get ready for their day, and they are usually leaving as I wake up. While I listened to their morning conversation, I thought how in a few years there would only be one getting ready for school, and she would be downstairs by herself. I got a little sad.
Now, please know, that I am not one of those moms that want her kids to be little forever, or to never leave home. I am actually really excited to see them grow and become all they can be in life. I am excited to see Gabi pursue her dreams in a few years as she heads off to whatever school she chooses. Bittersweet? Of course, but none the less, we have a choice on how to embrace it right? I will choose to be excited and supportive. None the less, she will be leaving home in just a little over 2 years, which as I now know very well is just a few quick blinks away.
So in all of this thought process I have been thinking of things to do together that will make lasting memories before I am trumped by college friends and a boyfriend for any free time she may have. It’s ok, it is a part of life. I get it. The trip planned for NYC coming up in a couple of months or the weekend trips to the mall or even the four hour road trip we had together will be great memories. But after talking with my friend, I realized there is a bigger memory to be made here. Those daily moments, which are really just a few minutes, will be cherished for a lifetime, just like my friend does. I want that. So what does that mean for me? A small sacrifice of getting up just a few minutes earlier to have a cup of coffee while we chat about our day ahead. Hopefully it will be something that will mean something to them as they get older. Whether it’s as quick as when they head off to school, or when they have teenagers of their own. I encourage you to do the same. Time really does fly!
What type of prioritizing do you do to show your kids they matter most? I would love to hear from you, for if I hadn’t had that conversation with my friend, I don’t know that breakfast would have been ever thought about.
Thanks Moe!
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I share a lot of your feelings…except that I only have ONE and she is off to college (hopefully LOL!) in two years. I have been trying to take more trips with her – just us – the past few years to spend more quality time together, as well as making an effort to talk to her more after school before I go back to work. Time passes much too quickly!
Way too quickly Jen! 🙂
This is a great post. We make sure to speak with each other in the evening time and we spend time together on the weekend.
wonderful times! Time flies, I have to try to remember that them being little will not last for long – to take in each moment and savor it!
They do grow up so fast… I certainly hear you on trying to capture those little moments as much as possible. We don’t always get to sit down together for dinner as a family but we do have breakfast together every morning, even those really morning Orchestra days! I am lucky enough to be able to see her off and give her a hug most mornings- something that I won’t get to do when she is gone to school in a couple of years.
I try so hard to make time for my girls but often work gets in the way. So often, it has taken a total look of despair on my daughter’s face when I say “I can’t right now because I’m working” for me to realize that the work can wait 30 minutes or an hour or two. My daughters are happy with any minute that I give them, I just need to make sure I do it more often before they are too old and don’t want to “play” with me any more!
Ahhh, these photos are amazing! I love that you are so focused on your girls and spending quality time with them. They will always remember the surprise trips and moments that you all spend together.
The time we spend with our kids is so important and magical. I’m so glad to see how happy you look together and how you really care about your daughters. They are both such cuties!
Having time to spend with my boys is part of the reason I haven’t reentered the workforce full time. I really enjoy time to just hang out with them and chat.
Working at home it can be almost more difficult because it’s almost like you can take for granted that you are there and can do whatever later. I’ve been making a big effort to close the laptop and be in the moment for my kids. Mine are still little enough we have meals together 7 days a week although activities and schedules have begun to get busier already
I can completely relate. As a mom of a 14-year-old, I’m trying to take advantage of any time she’ll give me (friends are sooooo important, after all), knowing she’ll be off to college in a few years. I went through a period of mourning for the little girl she was at the start of her preteen years, but have come to embrace the changes and am enjoying watching her grow up. Here’s to hoping I still feel the same way when she leaves the nest for good.
I love this. 🙂