5 Tips to Not Miss Precious Moments

Don’t Blink

The other morning, I was taking my children to school like every other morning. After dropping off my oldest, I had my son and 2 youngest daughters in my car when the Kenny Chesney song, “Don’t Blink” came on. Right then and there, I started to tear up. Time can be a thief especially if we don’t take advantage of it.

As a mom of 4, I can attest to how quickly life speeds up after you have your first child. When I was younger, I always thought my days went by so slowly especially around the holidays. Why did it take so long for Christmas to get there? To get to the teenage years took forever. It felt like a lifetime to get my license. Why did it take so long to turn 18 and officially be an adult? That all changed when I became a mom.

I went back to the elementary I attended for several years and it seemed so small. In between each building, there was a grass area. There were 5 classes in a row on one side, a grass area in between, then another row of classes with another set of classes behind those, with grass area separating those classes with another set of classes and so on. It always seemed like the distance between those sets of buildings were so far apart, however, when I went back as an adult, the distance was much shorter. That is like life now; the time between things seems so much shorter than they were when I was younger.

Time Flies

It’s hard to imagine that my oldest is going to be 16. Old enough to start driving herself to school, to friends, to the movies, to parties, etc. I can still remember her first few years. She was a spunky one with a lot of energy. Sleep was not her favorite activity. It wasn’t until she was 11 months when she slept through the night after sleeping training her. I tried the “stay in the room, but don’t be too close, but not too far” trick. That didn’t work. Then I did the “stay in for a little and then leave” trick. That didn’t work. We finally did the, “let her cry it out” trick and that did it. After 5 nights, she was sleeping through the night without any help. Even those 5 days seemed like forever. However, that time flew by in the big scheme of things.

That has how my whole motherhood life has been. While it seems so slow and certain phases take so long to end while in them, they really fly by. I have another 7 months before my 4 year old goes to kindergarten. She has been at home with me since the day she was born. When she was born, I thought Kindergarten was so far off. I have thought I had plenty of time with her. Now, we are looking for the best school for her. Time flies when you’re having fun!

What we feel that makes us miss moments

1. We have so much time, we don’t have to do anything right this second so why rush. Often times we are so occupied in something else, we miss a lot as well because we think we have more time.

2. We will never get out of a difficult phase that we focus on the negative. We miss so many memories with this mindset.

Trust me, I have thought or felt both of these. I was caught up in thinking the phase would never end. When my two oldest were babies and toddlers, I thought time would go by slow and I had enough time to get their footprint, or take that picture, or go to that place that I missed that opportunity. I didn’t take advantage of that time and do it then. I thought I had more time.

Tips to not miss another moment

1. Get out of the mindset that we this will never end. Yes, it will end. If you spend too much of your time thinking it’s taking forever for a phase to end, you will miss some amazing moments. Try to relax, enjoy the stage, and know that it will all be better.
2. Be present. I know you hear this often everywhere, but it’s true. Get off of your electronics, try not to think of what you need to do next, and be in the moment. Play with your child. Look at them. Take it all in.
3. Take photos. I am not one who takes a ton of photos because usually I am “in the moment” and I love to just soaking in as much as possible, but take photos. After 15 years, I still look back at photos of my oldest and reminiscence. When times get tough, I look at photos. They bring me much joy.
4. Remember they are little for only a short amount of time. I
5. Prioritize tasks and make lists. You are probably thinking how does that pertain to missing moments. Here’s how…if you are focusing on everything you have to complete and it starts to stress you out, you will be worrying more about that than your child. Make a list based on priorities, and just go down the list. If nothing gets done, no big deal. If your day consisted of spending time with your child, you won the day. Stop thinking you have to get everything done that you have on your list. Reality is, your child needs you. You can do your chores later. There have been days where all I did was hold my child. I accepted it and the following day, she was fine and I was able to get my to do list started.

Give yourself grace! Your priority should always be your child and you can’t get these moments back. Don’t say I should have, I could have. Do it! Spend time with them. BE present.

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