Lately, I’ve been posting some lovely photos of my kids. Who am I kidding!? My kids are always lovely. (At least to me.) But I love these pictures that I’ve shared on Instagram. Like all these. But there is something important for you to know. I don’t post these because I think my kids are amazing or because I think I’m an amazing mom.
Let’s get real for a moment. I love these photos because they are close up, down on the ground, REAL moments with my kids. They are (literally) a snapshot of a moment of a day. I love capturing them because these beautiful moments? They are all the time and yet…
EVERY DAY IS SO HARD.
Every day. So hard. The joy and the struggle intermingle in a woozy sort of cocktail and I stumble along through it despite my best planning and my prayers and my best efforts. Joy to struggle, struggle to joy. Laughter to somebody (or several somebodies) crying. Playing well to someone getting their face (or feelings) trampled. Things are calm and then they are crazy.
And I have learned am learning not to fight the current of where my day takes me. (Click to Tweet!)
Because fighting makes me more tired. You know what they say about a rip tide? Don’t fight it. Let it take you out and then when it calms, you can drift back to shore.
This advice is so very true of parenting for me right now. When I struggle against it, I weary myself but make no actual progress toward a sandbar where my feet can touch. When I let go and say, “Lord, you have given me this day with all its beauty and ugly,” then I drift and soon it calms and I can find my feet again.
So these pictures? They are how I capture the beauty. They are a life vest that I can cling to for a moment before they, too, are swept away. They are hope and they are memories that I can share and savor for my wee ones, who may not or will not remember when they are grown.
I will not forget the hard parts, but I hope that more than those, I remember the joys and the sweetness and the feel of a baby’s fingers inside my mouth and the soft skin on my check.
And THAT’S why I take and post these lovely pictures.
How are you (or did you or would you) make it through the chaotic days of parenting?