Little Moments

21 April 2007

Have you ever noticed how the little moments are sometimes the best? 

Recently we bought a new washing machine – a front loader.  We decided to try it out before the boys went to bed.  So there we all were in the laundry.  Our boys were in their PJ’s crouched on the floor snuggled up next to each other, their two heads of mousy brown hair looking like one, peering into this washing machine like they were watching the best show on ABC kids ever.  My husband and I just looked up at each other and smiled. 

Those little moments are frozen in time.  They are more powerful than the big celebrations.  There are no photos to capture the moment, just the sweet indelible print on your brain. 

Children are absolute masters of little moments.  They are forever creating them and enjoying them.  They stop dead in their tracks at the wonderment of a butterfly, squeal with cheeky pleasure at the sound of a burp bursting forth from their lips, spontaneously run – just ‘cause they can, and take you by surprise when suddenly they whisper, “I love you mummy”.

I sometimes think that I put too much emphasis on the big moments.  The graduation, the wedding, the interview, the holiday…  Too many expectations are created and possibly not fulfilled.  But the little moments jump right out in front of you.  They startle and delight you.  You don’t have a chance to build them into anything that they are not supposed to be.  You just enjoy them as they are.  They come, and they go.  They are not recorded for posterity, but they are the moments that shape us the most I think.  And they are the moments that I want to live for.

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