1.25.2012

Carpe Diem

A friend and I were laughing the other day about how it's kinda annoying to be bombarded so constantly with the message of "being present" whilst engaged in mothering young children. Sometimes I feel like my present-ness is precisely the problem (I'm thinking of an incident that occurred 52 minutes ago involving the 5 year old, a cookie, and a very long time-out). This article from the Huffington Post has been making the rounds and I thought it was spot-on. Kairos is a word and concept I hope to remember.

But that being said, I do appreciate the occasional gentle reminders I periodically encounter that help me to embrace the very worst moments within this time of my life (which to clarify, I am enjoying :) ). My cousin Emily sent me a copy of an adorable children's book, Oscar, which describes a bunch of bad and true things the author Amber Tayler's son did - like burying her jewels in the backyard during a game of pirate (so bad) and pouring milk in the grandma's purse (again, so bad). The book is told from the child's perspective and after describing the awful thing he's so innocently done, he follows up with statements like "I had to remind Mom to use her quiet voice" and "I had to remind mom we should love all of God's creatures." So cute and if you think about it very touching.*

What have been your worst parenting moments, a la Oscar? I never tire of hearing the naughty things little ones do.

*when the child is over the age of 7! :)

16 comments:

melissa said...

I loved learning the concept of chronos vs. kairos time. Very profound. Carpe kairos for all of us, right!

Emily said...

I'm remembering something a wise woman once told you that you once told me: sometimes you just have to muddle through. Very true. Not everyday is a basket of dreams, but time has a great way of putting a charming patina on all of these crazy days. My dad was just telling me about his time as the family cow-milker. I'm sure it was no picnic, but he recalls is fondly now.
Great book! I'm hoping that's what my memories look like someday :)

Mamabear said...

Thanks for the post and link to the article with Glennon Melton! SO true- it was a nice reminder that we all are only human. And her comment on "adding" to the climb- that it's okay, others should not judge so harshly. I really think us mamas need to be more helpful with one another and not so judgemental.

Mamabear said...

I also forget to say that it's nice to see you ladies are not posting as often-yes, that sounds strange, but, it shows you are taking in more moments with your family :D And, it allows me to come back from time to time and catch up with what you are working on without investing too much computer time away from my family. Kairos.

Jilly said...

Oh, I love that article!

One of my Oscar moments was when my son and our next door neighbour boy buried all the contents of my wallet in different parts of the sandbox - we're talking bank card, credit card, health insuance, birth certificate . . . the whole lot.

A close second was when he "borrowed" our keys off the key hook, including the ONLY key to our storage shed and lost them somewhere . . . we had to use bolt cutters to get into our own shed, and change the lock.

We are really praying this son will survive his teens . . .

Unknown said...

Jilly, that is hilarious!!! Time to get rid of the sandbox!

alexandra said...

That was a really nice article. I totally agree with Emily's comment, and I think that wise woman was wise indeed. Having my oldest in full-day school now also has given me a better perspective on how quickly each stage goes by, and knowing that does help the bad moments take on their more proper proportion as mere moments in time.

Lauren said...

Great article. I can't wait to read the book. I love hearing naughty children stories.

I wonder if I could have my kids write a book like that now. They remember everything:)

The Hammonds said...

I read this article a week or so ago and have thought of it often since. But I also think that those moments that I want to pass really, really quickly--the ones when my kids are being really naughty, or really infuriating and I'm being really impatient or unreasonable are the ones I laugh the hardest about as I'm retelling them to Tyler in the evening. I guess I feel like the kairos moments are the ones you treasure in your heart, but the chronos (or more accurately worse-than-chronos) moments are the ones that become family legends.

Unknown said...

court - exactly.

(steve and i are still laughing about what sophie told you about your lady parts on the top half)

Lisa Thompson said...

Lynne & Melissa - I absolutely love your blog. And although you probably have more than 200 followers I awarded you the Liebster Blog Award. Thanks for continuing to inspire me and at times, make me laugh (the home-made Christmas gift entry with photo is fantastic!). Today's entry on my blog announces your award.

Much love,L

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