Slowing Down

Last night as I was putting the kids to bed, I felt a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit to slow down and really focus on James and then Ella, to not rush through the routine of trying to get out the door of their bedroom without having to answer too many questions.  I'm so glad I listened.

I took in James's little seven-year-old face and the way he kisses me and tells me he loves me, the way he snuggles into his pillow and closes his eyes and says, "I'm so tired" at the end of each day.  I washed all the dirt of an afternoon spent playing outside off his feet instead of lazily putting him to bed with them.

I listened to Ella talk through her day, and I wonder if she's an external processor like me because she tells me every detail.  I let her read in bed until 9:00 like I have almost every night of the Easter Holidays and hope that we'll be able to get back into a good rhythm before school tomorrow.

I am often with my kids, but my busy mind keeps me farther away than our physical proximity to each other.  I'm thankful for those moments when my mind feels aware of the present and lets go of worries and spinning thoughts of the past and the future.

Spring Break Treat of a movie in bed