Enjoying a Few Moments

In a rare feat, we had dinner done AND cleaned up by 6:00 last night. Actually, we cooked, and I cleaned. Proud moment for this whack-a-mole mom.

And whacking moles is about what every day is for me.

• "Mom, where's ______?" Whack (the mole, not the child).

• Fix this, answer that. Whack, whack.

• Nasty bathroom scuzz. Whack.

• Pull a few weeds. Whack.

• Answer email. Whack.

• Put away the trails around the house. Whack. Mental note to follow up on making the children do their own whacking.

• Take children to ______. Gas station. Post office. Bank. Drugstore. Donut and coffee shop (for Mommy). Pick up children from ______. Whack, whack, whack, whack, whack, yumm-o, whack.

• Who left cheese wrappers out... again? Actually, in my house, I know who that usually is. It's that person's signature marking. Whack. Mental note to work on, yet again, cleaning up one's trails.

• Is this sock clean or dirty? Not sniffing. It's just automatically dirty. Start laundry. Whack.

• To office. Print this. Print that. Follow up on ______. Whack. Whack. Whack.

• Oh, yes, the kids need to write thank you notes for ______. Pull out the cards. Write a Post-It note reminding them to do such. Stick it on the table. Whack. Whack.

• Orthodontist calls. Teleconference. Gulp. Whack.

• Bunny, your box is stinky. Let's change that. Whack. Big whack.

• Water the pathetic houseplants that are clinging to dear life. Whack.

• Don't forget to drink enough water so I'm doing more than clinging to dear life. Whack.

• What's for dinner? It's 5:00 already. Ummm... Freezer pizza, anyone? Whack.

• The cars need to be cleaned. Remember to whack.

• One car needs an oil change. Also remember to whack.

• Sweep the floor--for the fourth time in one day. Whack.

• Make that list (lovely list) of all the other moles to whack.

There's more to life than whacking moles, though. It fills a large part of each day, and my mind, but I really am trying to remember to enjoy some life.

I sat out in my car for 10 minutes or so yesterday as I was waiting for the children to finish up their youth group.

Just when I pulled out my phone to start messing around on it, I thought to put that away and just enjoy the scenery. There was a playful dog leaping and running around a fenced-in yard not far away. I loved seeing his zest for life.

Soon after, 4 more dogs came out of that house. Two dogs looked like spectators, while the other 3 were having a playful go at one another.

I took a few minutes just to enjoy watching them in the quiet and stillness of my car.

I also gave thanks that I wasn't having to clean up the poo from 5 dogs at my house.

A few moments watching dogs isn't necessarily life-altering, but remembering to put down the frenzied stick I use to whack moles all the time and enjoy my surroundings actually can be life-altering.