Make The Most Of Every Opportunity To Connect
by Beth Stevenson © 2004

I've been going through some old videotapes from when my children were small so I can finally label and organize them for my daughter to put in DVD format for me.

We hear all the time about how quickly time passes, but suddenly, the reality of that statement slaps me in the face.

I face with some sadness that both of my older children are grown, and those days of seeing them and sharing their lives daily are gone.

I realize that my third child is graduating from high school and my baby is about to enter high school.

But those old videos really do seem like they were just taped yesterday.

I used to lead breastfeeding support group meetings for my rural community. Often I would welcome new moms who seemed very overwhelmed with the task of caring for a brand new life 24 hours a day.

One of the things I would always make sure to visually show the new moms in the group would be an eight-foot long string with knots tied in it at a distance of one foot apart all the way up the string.

I told them that the string represents their lives with each knot measuring a span of 10 years.

A ten-year span of time, or the distance between two knots on the string, is usually the maximum time that children intensely need their moms.

I would show them visually that the space between two knots is relatively such a short time in the span of their lives.

This demonstration always seemed to put those exhausting days into perspective for the new moms.

They needed to hear that it really does get easier as they grow into their job as a mom.

So now, in looking back at basically two knots in the span of my life, I see the truth in the saying that time passes by so quickly.

It is so easy to get caught up in all the things we feel we have to do and miss out on some of the things we ought to do.

I did do a lot with my four children who all arrived within a span of nine years, but I regret the times I folded laundry instead of going for a walk with them.

Or plopped them down in front of the TV for the second hour of Big Bird that day so I could get dinner started.

I always loved that poem that goes something like this:

"Cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'til tomorrow
'Cause babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow
So settle down cobwebs, dust go to sleep
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep."
Author Unknown

And so it seems, neither do teenagers!! Make the most of every opportunity to connect no matter what their age.

Until next time,
Beth Stevenson

About the Author: If you are tired of experts telling you how to parent, please subscribe to A Common Sense Parent Newsletter available at www.ACommonSenseParent.com. Beth Stevenson, who has parented four children over a span of 24 years, publishes it. No right or wrong answers, just a common sense approach to parenting. Beth@ACommonSenseParent.com.