Are You Enjoying Parenting?

As I bathed my toddler, I gently wrestled him to keep his head back while I rinsed the soap from his hair. 

"Look at the bugs in the light"

(This is how I get him to look up... yes there really are bugs in the light...)

Bathtime is over and I wrap him up in a towel. Since he was little I always purposed to snuggle with him a few minutes after a bath instead of hurrying to get his clothes on and move onto the next endeavor. Part because I wanted to spend time holding him, part because he won't let me NOT take this time with him. 

Piece by piece I put his clothes on as we count "two feetsies" "one head" "two arms" and of course, because he's a boy, "one booty!".

Then I end our routine with two kisses and one hug. 

He puts his little hands on my shoulder, kisses each cheek and gives me a hug. With his hands still placed on me he looks me in the eye and says,

"I love you mom"

"I love you too Aryeh"

"I love you so much!"

"I love you so much!"

"Mom, you're home!"

"Yes I'm always home."

"I'm home too!"

Wow! I can't believe this moment just happened!

It was so precious, so deep, and had so much meaning behind it that his little mind didn't even grasp. It caused a series of thoughts to train their way through my head.

What a responsibility, what a joy, what an opportunity, of great importance, of great wealth, of such fulfillment to stay at home and raise my children!

Responsibility in training them to become adults in every aspect. Emotionally, financially, disciplined, productive, intelligent, wise, kind, patient, helpful individuals.

Joy in the moments when your toddler understands how to read, when your 5-year-old understands place value, when your 6-year old applies God's Word in such a personal and powerful way, when your 8-year-old is passionate about somthing and applies all those character traits you've built in her to gain a new skill. 

Opportunity in being the one who lays the entire foundation for their long, long (prayerfully) life outside of your home. 

Am I Enjoying it?

Am I laughing?

Am I mulling over the little things they say?

Am I laughing with my husband at the ridiculous situations we find ourselves in?

Am I brushing back the hair off my little one's face and singing them their favorite song while I nurse them back to sleep in the wee hours of the morning?

Am I sitting on my girls floor having a fun conversation with them before bed?

I would challenge you to look over the moments of your day and aim to increase the moments of enjoyment. 

There will be frustrating ones and challenging ones, but how many enjoyable ones will there be? 

The enjoyable moments we have are all by our choice. 

We choose enjoyment.

We choose joy.

I want to enjoy more moments like I did after bath time today.