So much of our time spent raising kids is making sure that they don't forget something. Sometimes it's the little things...water bottles, snacks, hats, hockey sticks. Ok, so it turns out forgetting a hockey stick on game day is maybe a little/big thing. But hey, I didn't say I was always good at making sure they don't forget everything.
Other times, it's big things we're so hyper-focused on making sure they don't forget. Especially as they get older and begin to learn more about the complicated, yet beautiful world they live in and how important their part it truly is. I try my hardest to teach them kindness, forgiveness, faith, perseverance and gratitude. And here I thought getting them to just sleep through the night as babies was my personal Everest. Raising good humans is hard. Heck, always being the good human I want to model for them is hard.
Somewhere along the way with so much energy focused on making sure they they don't forget all these little and big things, it can be too easy to forget something else - a part of ourselves. But if we're lucky, sometimes all it takes is just one brief moment to make us remember. I was thankful to have one of these moments the other night as I drove to pick up a pack of kids for another night of carpool. All it took was the sweet sounds of Nelly singing all about his Country Grammar. And just like that after cranking up the volume and having a brief dance party at a red light, not caring that I was no longer in the clubs but instead now in my sweet mini van (sports edition, not to brag), I realized something. Not only did I still remember the words (which is impressive considering I can't remember what day it is half the time); I remembered something else... I still got it. Underneath that dishwashing, carpooling, laundry folding, full-time working woman that looks me back in the mirror now, is still that excited, fun-loving version of me that loved to dance to Nelly all those years ago. It's just that in between all that adulting she can get lost in the mix of it all sometimes. These little moments...they pass quickly, but they're like little sparks that light a fire in us again, helping us to remember little pieces of ourselves.
These sparks come to us in different pockets of our lives that we can too easily overlook or forget if we don't allow ourselves a moment to pause, enjoy and remember, we still got it. When you're playing with your kids and seeing them light up with love and joy just being with you... you still got it. When you're having a moment with the hubby where you feel all the love again after basically high-fiving each other as you come and go for stretches of time.... you (both) still got it. When you look back at all that's changed in your life but know with certainty that while you've grown and changed, you've stayed grounded in who you are and what you value all these years later... you really still got it. When you're hitting the gym for the first time in what feels like forever and are feeling bad you don't quite look how you once did. Just think of all that your body has done for you all these years. You haven't given up.... you still got it. And on top of all of that, I'd even argue that we're better now than that earlier version of us we so fondly remember, because there's no way she could've handled everything you're doing right now. So ladies, whether it takes enjoying a night out with a friend, listening to a favorite old jam that brings you back in time, soaking up a special moment with a loved one, or surprising yourself by trying something new....let's remember, we still got it. And bonus points for remembering the kids stuff too!
Comments