I am not the best mother. I admit. How I’d like it to be different, but try as I might, I still make mistakes. Oh, they’re not huge mistakes, but they are mistakes all the same. Like wishing I’d spent more time riding the bike with my son … every day, rather than just sometimes. Like reading stories longer each day with my little ones while small instead of just a few minutes each time. The list could go on and on.
Perhaps this is why I feel the need recently to focus on my children more. I am a stay-at-home mom, so they already do get a lot of “face time” with me. But I sometimes wonder how effective some of it really is. You know the kinds of moments perhaps. Like washing the dishes as the kids come in to talk at the end of the day. My thoughts can be full of other preoccupations and so the kids might simply get an absent-minded “uh, huh” as they talk. My eyes are elsewhere as I stew on how to solve whatever problem faces me at the moment.
In fact, I wonder how often adults as a general rule really listen to kids. How often do we actually look them in the eye when they speak to us? I’ve seen it in the movies or in commercials, with the little kid coming to the table and the dad is sitting there, face in the newspaper, just muttering hmmphs as responses to the young one.
I don’t want to be like this. Families can be together forever! And so I stop and ponder, more so even recently, what kind of “forever” am I creating today!
Children who have happy times with their families are less peer prone, less likely to cave to peer pressure. There are so many ways to increase that happy time. But most of it involves relinquishing the heavy burdens we carry as adults and being willing to embrace our kids with full-hearted hugs and to look them square in the face and say, “I love you.”
Life is too short to be caught up in problems. True, they need to be solved. If ignored, problems turn into emergencies. But the older I get, the more I realize that my kids deserve their mom’s undivided attention more times than not.
Experts suggest turning off the TV, the radio, or even (gasp) the computer. Unplug the phone and pull out an old-fashioned card game. Make a difference by focusing on the heart, soul, and laughter of your children. I know that it’s something I’m seeking more to do.
Latter-day prophets have taught us families can be together forever and that they are central to God’s plan for our happiness. I sure want that forever to be a happy one, full of laughs and happy memories. Best get started today!
