Small and Simple Things

Some days it can be hard to see the miracles around us. I am sure there are big miracles that happen around me and I am just not noticing them as my mind is preoccupied with life... looking back on today the miracle that comes first to my mind is very simple and small. I played a game with my 8 year old daughter.

Yes, you read that right. My miracle today was that I did a simple thing of playing a game with my child. Why is that a miracle? To explain, I will need to give a little bit more background.

Since my son was born a little over 3 years ago, I have had major sleep deprivation. He had health issues that caused him to not be able to sleep very well. (I'll write more about that in another post at another time) Which meant that I didn't sleep very well. As the years have gone on, I still have various things that have been affecting my sleep so I never, ever feel rested. Add on top of that my health problems (which cause fatigue) and the stress of raising a teenager, an inbetweener, and 2 toddlers... and I am a a mess. My stress hormone is on full blast all the time. I am always worn out.

Each day I have a kind of ritual that I do to give myself time to de-stress for a little bit in order to make it the rest of the day. I put my son down for a nap, have the other kids go play outside or busy with something, and then I make myself lunch which I eat in my bed as I watch a tv show. I NEED that time. I have found that I am a better mom when I get to have that time to step away from the craziness of my life.

Today my 8 year old asked me to please play a wii game with her. I finished my lunch and wanted to finish watching my show to de-stress a little longer. I put her off for a few minutes and tried to justify not playing a game with her, but I realized how important it was to her. So I reluctantly went out to play a game with her.

I saw that she had picked Just Dance... Dancing around all goofy?? Really? But I did it. I made sure to get real into it and be silly. I ended up having a lot of fun and so did she. We spent quality, fun one on one time together. I am so glad I put aside my selfish need/want and put her needs first. I know the nudge came from above, because He knew her needs.