Little Moments

"Yeah, I live for little moments like that...." - Brad Paisley, 'Little Moments'

 I was talking to a friend today about home schooling and the 'little moments' that make the hum-drum and craziness all worthwhile.


Then I realised that life is pretty much like that.....especially parenting.

 Parenting is hard work - it's not for the faint-hearted! It's a huge responsibility to raise a child to a functioning adult. Day in, day out, it takes all our energy to love, guide and teach our little ones.

 Amongst all the hard bits like labour, teething, tantrums, defiance, seemingly endless energy, scribbled-on walls, pre-teen attitude, pester power, teen hormones, grunts in the place of words and mess......there are these sweet little vignettes of pure joy.

 Just one of those moments can power a parent for a long while sometimes!

 My children always looks so precious when they're sleeping. Gazing upon their peaceful countenance never fails to fill my mummy tank. Sometimes there's a funny joke going on between all of us in the family that brings us child-like joy and lightens the whole mood. A chortle from a baby ignites a spark of joy in my heart that lifts me for the rest of the day.
This is the same with home schooling. With teenagers and older primary children you do get a fair amount of attitude - that's true. But there is nothing so frustrating and achingly slow as teaching a child to read!

 My dear daughter, Nature Girl (6) has finally learned to read simple sentences this year. After three terms of phonics, I was having my patience tested sitting with my girl encouraging her to blend her sounds.
Then the blissful moment arrived where instead of struggling through the sounds laboriously, she read the sentence spontaneously and perfectly.

 Cue BLISS!

 A moment of pure unadulterated joy at her simple but powerful achievement.

Now, don't get me wrong - there's blessing in the hum-drum of life and we should not life solely for those moments of joy, but rather appreciate them as a sweet cherry on the chocolate cake of life.

 Here's to the 'little moments' in life that sustain us!

 I invite you to enjoy the following clip from a great singer/songwriter and keen social commentator, Brad Paisley - enjoy! 

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