Pause

My five year old melted into tears..."but you said we could!"


I glanced at the clock...twenty minutes until 8:00.


Quick calculations told me that we could not brush teeth, wash hair, moisturize, find clean jammies, read a story AND have a mother-daughter makeover before kindergarten bedtime.


The practical thing would have been to say no. It's a school night. You are terribly grumpy when you don't get enough rest.


The responsible thing would have been to postpone makeover fun for another day, with some parental nugget of wisdom about using our lifeskill of flexibility when time won't allow us to do all the things we wish we could do.


The selfish thing would be to hold to my guns, since I really didn't want to have to wash an enormous amount of make-up off my face in the first place.


Yet, incredibly, the wailing drew my compassion, and I sat in the floor compliantly while my five year old transformed me into Cinderella (with some really bright cheeks).


Father, help me not to always push through to what is responsible and scheduled. Help me to PAUSE and make moments that are significant to my daughter, even when I'm not in the mood to play.


Help me to PAUSE throughout the day and respond to you...even if your plan seems to be different from what I have in mind.


Help me to have more YES moments. Really, what harm was done?


I love you, and thank you for helping me on this parenting journey.


T