One night earlier this week the girls were begging to take a walk around the neighborhood. And, since it was early enough and near perfect weather for being outside, I thought it sounded like a good idea. So, I strapped the Baby into her stroller and the girls hopped on their bike and trike, and we headed down the driveway. Then, suddenly, the Preschooler had a better idea. She needed to take her “baby” and push a stroller, too. Of course, the Toddler wasn’t to be left out of the fun. So, she grabbed another doll and her little stroller. And, then, with three strollers and three babies ~ off we went into the sunset.
I asked the Spouse to take a picture to capture this sweet moment…
As we headed down the road I was thinking about how special this was to be out enjoying a great night with my girls. There we were, all in a row with our strollers, taking in the sights and sounds of nature just enjoying each other’s company and the fabulous spring weather. I was even thinking about how sweet it was that they wanted to be just like me with their little strollers and babies in tow. Despite the fact that the Toddler was having some severe steering problems {on which she blamed the stroller, of course}, the first half of our walk was still by far my favorite few minutes of the day. I wasn’t distracted by technology or busy-ness of any sort. I was fully present in the moment and glad to be soaking in their company.
But, then… we got to the end of the street and had to turn around to make the uphill trek back home, and I was reminded that my walking buddies are all a little young to fully appreciate the refreshment of an evening stroll. Soon, the sounds of the birds chirping in the trees and the leaves rustling in the breeze were drowned out by the high-pitched voices of my now whiny companions:
“My legs are getting sore.”
“I’m so hot.”
“Mommy, I’m hungry.”
“The sun is in my eyes.”
“I’m tired.”
“This is hard.”
“She’s running into me with her stroller, and she’s doing it on purpose!”
“She growled at me!”
“Mommy, I need you to carry me.”
And, by the end of the walk I was sweating… pushing one stroller, carrying another stroller, and helping the girls repeat the mantra: “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can” until we finally reached our driveway.
All this just serves to remind me that it’s really, really important to savor the sweet moments as much as possible, because those kinds of moments… they tend to come and go in a hurry.
Sweet turns to sweat in the blink of an eye… or at least in the time it takes us to do a lap around the neighborhood.
Happy mother’s day, moms! Savor the sweet and the sweat 🙂
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