Hooray for Sunshine

I had a "moment " yesterday that hopefully I will always remember. It was nothing spectacular, just one of those times that you actually take the time to enjoy the moment. We had a brief period of sunshine yesterday afternoon, and the kids asked if we could play at the park. It was actually warm enough to play outside in sweatshirts. I loved watching Nathan and Sarah ride around the perimeter of the park on their scooters while Rob ran laps, and Matthew chased after all of them yelling, "wait Daddy!" It was so sweet. Then as I sat by Sarah as she made volcanoes in the sand, watching Rob, Nathan and Matthew playing frisbee, I had a great feeling of contentment. It struck me what a cute little family I have. I just enjoyed the moment!

I feel that I do this way too infrequently. I'm always rushing through a game to get on to the next thing, or thinking about what to cook for dinner, the next cleaning project... the list goes on and on. Rarely do I take the time to just enjoy. Thanks to my friend Jeannie that had sent me a little email with quote from Elder M. Russell Ballard, as he quoted:

"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: 'The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less."

I hope I will always remember Nathan saying, "Mom, did you see how great I'm throwing the frisbee, and my catches are even better!" Or the sound of Sarah's giggles as she slides down the slide head first. Or Matthew chasing after Nathan, trying to throw him the frisbee. Or Rob chasing down a wild frisbee throw with Matthew in one arm. Or Nathan running a lap around the park as hard as he could then trying to do push ups like his Dad. Thanks to a loving Heavenly Father to give us a brief period of sunshine in February, and more importantly, a glimpse at what's really important- a moment to treasure.

What a great thing to be able to play outside again- at least until it started raining again.