Notice the Balloons in Musings

We road tripped to my brother’s wedding this weekend. (Which was wonderful!) On the way back we stopped at a store and Nathan sent me inside so I could get him some medicine. I was checking out when he brought in Leah so she could go to the bathroom. She ran up to me excitedly and pointed at all the balloons, naming all the different characters and colors on them.

I didn’t even notice the balloons.

In that moment I realized just how much I miss in my haste to accomplish tasks. As much as I love running errands alone without a baby in the shopping cart and holding a preschooler by the hand, I realized in that moment how much I’m going to miss this stage of life. It is hard and it’s trying and some days I don’t think I’m going to make it.

But I’m going to miss it because I’m going to miss seeing the world through my little ones’ eyes.

At almost 4 Leah has realized there are scary things in the world. Loud noises and bad guys and creepy crawlies. But there is also so much joy. If I really stop to notice them, there are so many things big and small that make me smile. The smell of coffee. Petting the neighbor’s cat. A new episode of my favorite podcasts. A warm bed at the end of a long day.

Take a lesson from my daughter and notice the balloons in your life.