Last updated on September 30th, 2021 at 10:15 am
As a twin parent it is sometimes so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday that you can’t really take a moment to look around and see the bigger picture. I can admit that I am guilty of rushing through my day to get to the end…where sleep resides (in most cases). I do have four children, two teenagers and 3 year old twins, so I don’t often get a solid quiet moment unless my older children are watching them for me.
Today I was working, clacking along on my keyboard, and my daughter stuck her head through the office door. She said, “Mom you’ve got to come see this! You’re missing it!” At that moment I was aggravated at the interruption in my workflow. I sighed and got up to see what all the fuss was about, my mind already back to my computer and what needed to be done next, and I walked into the family room to see my 3 year old twins dancing to the Disney station on Pandora. I watched them for a few minutes, and then I watched them some more. I sat down and laughed at them, playing so joyfully over something so simple as a song and I realized…I should do this more often.
It seems like such a big thing at the time, that interruption that takes you away from what you were immersed in. But then you realize that the big thing isn’t the interruption, it’s the aggravation you feel. I am ashamed of how that realization made me feel. As a parent I’ve always tried to pay attention to even the smallest special moments in my kids’ lives. My children are not an interruption NOR an aggravation. Perhaps I’ll always feel upset by interruption, but my reaction definitely needs to change. Sighing and huffing along to get back to my work certainly isn’t an appropriate response to my children laughing in the next room. School work will wait…my job can wait…my children…will be grown before I know it and I’ll wish all those giggles back. I vow to never react in anger at the chance to hear my children laugh and play. Those sounds are precious. They are what being a mom is all about.
It’s natural to feel this guilt, I’ve been assured by many working mamas. We all deal with it in some aspect or another when it comes to our children. We just have to accept that life is too short to be upset over a little and much needed “break”. Take those breaks at face value and never miss the chance to soak them in. You’ll blink and they’ll be sighing at YOU (insert teenage eye roll here) and you’ll wish you could have just one more childish giggle.
Deanna Burkett is multi-tasking mama of two year old boy/girl twins and teens and a wife of 19 years to a very patient husband. On any given day you can find her pinning her heart away at Twiniversity’s Pinterest page, saying howdy to a new member of Twiniversity’s Facebook page or message board, working on school work while she earns her double degree of History and English at Ashford University, catering to her teenagers every beck and call or chasing one or two naked babies around the house! Look for her on Facebook, Twitter or on Pinterest!
