The Race is Not Always to the Swift

"Remind me each day that the race is not always to the swift; there is more to life than increasing its speed" 

I came across this quote and it speaks to me.  It is maybe something that I might not have always believed.  

I like to be busy--not being buried under a stack of work busy, but being busy enough to keep occupied and be able to go to bed feeling like I accomplished enough to be happy with the day busy. 

Since I graduated high school I've either been working and going to school or working all. the. time. Last fall, during my whole second trimester, I was going to school full time (taking 3 seminars for my Masters), working 40 hours a week at my day job, and tutoring for the RWS department at school 15 hours a week.  I was the unhappy kind of busy...but I did it. 

Me at Thanksgiving last year. 

I think about that time now and don't know how I did it.  (I think it had a lot to do with my blood pressure and other issues in the third trimester, but that's another post.) I do know that I couldn't and more importantly wouldn't do it now unless completely necessary (which it wasn't last Fall).  

Yes, I still have busy days because I am still tutoring 20ish hours a week and I am still working on my Masters and preparing for the teaching credential program (maybe) but my priorities have completely shifted. 

Now things can (and do) stop and wait for countless reasons.  If My Munchkin  needs me, he can have me for as long as he wants. If he wants to cuddle, my arms are open.  If he's hungry, I'll whip out the boob and put down the book or the stack of essays that need grading.  Housework, too, will wait until later. All that stuff will still be there but my baby won't be.  

Who could say no to that face??

These days life isn't about how fast or slow the days pass...it's about what may day is filled with.  

Life is about the number of cuddles I get.  It's about the new skills MM masters.  It's going to him when he's crying, picking him up, and hearing him say "ma ma." It's the little hugs in the morning and the smiles at bath time.  It's how fast that newly crawling baby can move.  It's kisses and hugs and the softness of baby skin. 

Life, when considered by the totality of these little moments, is absolutely beautiful and definitely not about going fast--it's about going slow and enjoying those little moments.  

This week, Thanksgiving week, whether you're a mom or not, slow down the speed a bit and enjoy the little moments of the beginning of the season. 

Babies know how to do it! They nap and take it easy all the time :)