It's said your life will change with a child. What no one says is that it's not one change, it's a constant stream of daily changes. No day is the same.
When you're tired, it's easy to look around and just see what remains to be done. Toys scattered across the floor. Files that have been toppled from the table. Supplies that have been upended. It's easy to forget the hours of smiles. Of creativity. Of love.
As Gates gets older, she'll be fourteen months next weekend, she engages her environment and us much more. This engagement requires our full attention. She's fast and curious. In the time it takes to compose a 140 character tweet and push publish, she'll have scaled the back of the couch and be casually tossing a leg over the back to imitate what her cousin Elijah did.
In parallel with her increased activity, Gates is napping less. This means there's fewer quiet moments during the day to pause and catch one's breath. When you do get a moment you're cautiously stepping over books and toys as you pick your way through the debris to a chair. And it's easy to get overwhelmed. To look at what needs to be done. Putting away toys and books. Refiling documents. Restocking supplies. Refolding laundry. It's a never ending cycle.
So this week, along with Now. Here. This. I need another saying:
Focus on the good.
On Monday, Amy of This Heart of Mine shared her Good Life story and reminded me that "[The Good Life is] not always pretty or fun but it is Good." This week when I got overwhelmed I needed to focus on the pretty to achieve "balance."
How do you love it all?
Following Amy's advice, rather than cancel a date night I glammed it up and had a great time with my husband. I enjoyed Gates' top hat routine and frequent giggles instead of trying to clean up around her.
Ciao Bella!
Eden!
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Sunday Sayings is a weekly series, published every Sunday, featuring an inspirational quote or a motto along with an anecdote of why I chose it.
