A Little Lesson From Stella

I am always talking about the little things that Stella teaches me. As a mom, I am constantly learning, with every new stage, new word, and new behavior. I am learning how to balance work and family and still keep smiling the entire time. The semester started this week at the university that I teach part-time at, so as of yesterday, I am now a working mom with two jobs. Say "hello" to working three nights a week.

Although I had a thousand things to do this past week, I wanted to really be sure to spend some time with Stella. I chose to push many things aside, and give her my full undivided attention Saturday and Sunday, letting her pull me here, sit me over there, and play this or that with her. During these times of "Stella says", I learned another lesson. Well, maybe just reminded of a lesson learned but lost.

Being present is crucial. My husband commented on how great a mood Stella was in all weekend, and I can't help but think that it was due to the fact that she had the full attention of her mommy whenever she looked for it. No screaming, no hitting, no temper tantrums. She politely obliged to the directions that were given to her, including finishing her meals and going down for her nap with little objection. Stella was in a wonderful mood from morning 'til night. Of course, this made the time that I was spending with her that much more enjoyable.

It is so easy for us moms to get caught up in "other things." Exercising, working, returning phone calls and emails, doing the housework (although you will never see me putting that as a priority), and all those other mom things we do can sometimes take over our lives. It is always our intention to put our children and our families first, but I will be the first to admit the more often than not, it is our families who get put on hold because of those other things that have to get done. The truth is, those things don't need to get done. Our children need and deserve our time more than those emails, the people we work for, and certainly more than the treadmill or the dust bunnies in the corner.

As always, my little girl has shown her wisdom and reminded mommy about the important things in life. With things about to get extremely hectic (thank goodness my half marathon is this weekend), I needed to be reminded that stopping and smelling the roses with my little one is the best way that my time can be spent.

Smell the roses (even if they're not real)

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