It’s the moment in between it all. The trash is out, some of the dishes have been put away, yesterday’s mail (bills) have been thumbed through and everyone’s needs are momentarily met. I can lean in close and hear his little breaths ever so quietly and the hum of the fan in the background as I carefully walk out of his room and gingerly close the door.
It’s the peaceful break in all the busyness of his day and mine that’s become so much more treasured than ever before. I can scan and flip through the pages of the book I’m working through, mix a spoonful of sugar into my hot tea and prop my feet up on our coffee table, with mid-morning light strewn on my toes, which are resting on a soft, velvet blanket. Or he’s in the stroller and we’re making our way down our block, which leads down to the water, where we can stroll in the salty air. Or less glamorously like this moment now, where I type away at my laptop voraciously indulging my acai bowl 🙂
I treasure these little pauses. Pauses that are—by no means—ignoring all that there is to do, but with the full understanding of how smart it would be to not take a break, still break wholeheartedly. My maternity leave has not been a vacation (which..who really thinks it will be?!? ..ok maybe me 🙂 but more a block of time where we get to know our baby boy, as well as establish our family—time together, rest together, being fully engaged in the other areas of our life but still running on all cylinders with our family. It’s all such an adjustment and it takes time since we’re discovering things for the first time again.
In all this newness, I find that rest has become more important than before, something not to disregard or leave for later. Something that gives me more opportunity to do things with a sound mind, more motivation and out of bounty rather than a deficit. Do I need to schedule rest? Perhaps I’d hope not to need to, but in this season, I do—and I’m not ashamed of that! I’m mastering my resting skills more than I ever have before and finding the fruit, life and benefit of those little pauses in my day that benefit myself, my family and how I serve God 🙂
Hope you find your little moment of rest today!
**A moment from our first family walk 🙂
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” ―John Lubbock
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