Reno Moms Blog Building a Community of Moms in the Biggest Little City
Strong relationships are not usually built on monumental, lifesaving feats that have been accomplished in the name of love. They are more commonly built on thousands and thousands of tiny moments that build up within us to form that incredible, unbreakable bond. The funny thing is, these moments happen, they come and go, they make us smile, or smirk or giggle, and then they are gone. We might never remember them again, but they leave their imprint on us. I crave these moments with my kids and husband every single day, but because of the nature and busyness of life, I sometimes feel like I’m missing out by letting the moments slip by.
We have crazy schedules nowadays; we live in a constant pattern of “excess” and “neglect.” We work in excess to catch up, to provide for our families, while feeling like we are neglecting quality time with our kids – the very ones we are trying to support. Then we hit reverse, escape out of town for a few days and spend an incredibly excessive amount of time with our kids and in return we neglect our work. I don’t know if anyone else finds themselves in this pattern, but that’s how it’s been for us so far this year!
We just got back from spending four days in a cabin in the Redwoods – it was SO INCREDIBLE! We had so many opportunities to experience our kids for who they are now and thoroughly enjoy their individual personalities. We saw them learn and experience new things, we got to snuggle with them every night and morning, and we got to see the sheer joy on their faces as we spent time doing amazing things together. We all had a lot of the “moments” I have been referring to, but we also realized that, in a way, we created a lot of the moments. Or at least we set up the opportunity for the moments to happen.
Now that we are back home, we unfortunately don’t have that same freedom to spend as much time with the kids every day. We are making a conscious effort to spend extra time with the kids, especially at the times when it matters the most. We know that having dinner all together is a huge bonding time; not exactly sure why, but it’s well known that eating meals together is a huge part of healthy family relationships. We know that tucking them in to bed together is also bonding; ending the day with them, letting them ask us questions or tell us things about their day, giving them a moment to express themselves without interruption. We are also trying to make sure that during our designated “work time,” we take breaks to hang out with them, to involve ourselves in what is important to them.
Sometimes we have to create the moments we live in, so let’s create many!
