This was a tough week in our house. I was emotional and stressed. Both kids were off their regular sleep schedules and we had too many activities on the calendar. I was unmotivated to cook but still wanted healthy meals so I added more pressure on myself then needed by scrambling each night to come up with something.
When I’d worn myself out of tears, I took some deep, long, slow breaths. Then I went in search for inspiration. Who better than Mother Teresa? I started reading her quotes. This one stood out:
“It is not what we do, but how much love we put into doing it.”
I started watching Micha. She puts her whole loving self into everything she does. She giggled as Peepers took the treat from her hand. Then she stood back and watched Peepers decide where she was going to eat it. When P finally settled on her bed, Micha laid down and watched her eat it. She narrated each chew and sound that Peepers made as she crunched away. She observed, laughed and rambled on about how happy Peepers was. She said, “Mama, Peepers LIKES!”
Then in music class, Micha grabbed her favorite instrument. She immediately laid down to show it to Luca. She wanted to share her excitement of the cool instrument with her little brother. Luca looked at the instrument and then mostly watched Micha. I can already see how he admires her and loves her the way I can tell he loves Jeff and I. It’s awesome to see him respond to her never-ending love.
This week, Micha was my teacher. She showed me to get out of my head, BE in the present moment and put love into whatever I’m doing. When I see these pictures, I keep looking, amazed at who she is. She is a happy, curious little girl. She lives in the now and showed me how to put love into everything I do.
Wishing you a love-filled week!
Angela
Angela M. Barbieri
I am a happy mother of two. I’ve written for as long as I can remember. Since becoming a mother, I’ve started sharing my writing to connect with others and share what I learn. I hope to support parents through my writing because parenting challenges us (understatement) but also allows us to relive innocent, new experiences through the eyes of our children (amazing!).
For more posts, (not all parent-related) check out: http://momange.tumblr.com/
I love Angela Barbieri’s honesty in her life-living daily experiences and writings. I think is very inspiring. I look forward to her blogs each week. keep it up. Thank you for sharing her stories!