Parenting Tip #9 The Best things are the Little things

I am a mother of seven children. When my oldest was age 18, my youngest was age 4. The next youngest child was 6 and not in school yet, so I was a stay at home mom with two preschoolers. But I viewed myself as a mother of older children who should have more free time while the kids were at school to work on projects I wanted to do and use my creative energy to write music, etc. The problem was: in actuality I was a mother of two preschool children and needed to give them my time and nurture them as I had their older siblings.

I was frustrated with my life and felt my needs were not being met. I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to tell me where my priorities should be. The answer: I am a mother of preschool children. I need to take the time to nurture them, enjoy them, and teach them. That is my first priority.

It was hard to accept this answer at first. But as I sat at the breakfast table with my 4 year old on my lap (she loved to sit on my lap to eat breakfast)I began to enjoy the wonderful way it felt to hold her and knew that I was giving her a sense of security and love. And as I helped my 6 year learn to read and play the piano, I felt love for her and knew I would cherish these memories with her.

I didn't feel like I was wasting my time anymore or missing out on some big project I could and should be doing. Instead, I felt peace, knowing that the little things I did during the day were really the big things--and the most important things.