Mama Time!

Can you believe we are halfway through the alphabet already?!?

This week's letter is M, and as I alluded to in last week's post, this week I'll talk about the blessing of Mama Time!

I used to think selfies were only taken by vain teenagers and movie stars. LOL! Over time I've realized that they can be a spur of the moment reminder of an amazing event, or just a fun time with family and friends. 

Because I'm such a landscape photographer by nature, and Arlene tends to take detailed shots because of her love of black and white photography, we seldom have pictures of our family together. We are together, we just tend to forget to take pictures of it! One time a few years ago, when we returned from a family vacation, as Kurt was showing the pictures to his Mom, she commented "Didn't Carol go with you?" To which Kurt replied "Who do you think took all these pictures?" Since then we've made it a point to include everyone in at least some of the pictures when we go on our adventures. One of the things the girls and I have started doing is taking an occasional selfie when we're doing something fun, and if Kurt has to miss it because he is at work, we'll text it to him.

That leads me into this week's topic of Mama Time.

Dear Mama, your children need you. They love you. And sometimes... they need you to stop being so darn responsible and cut loose and have some fun!

The collage above was made from pictures on my phone taken over the past year. Starting middle left and going clockwise:

Arlene and I hiding out in the Statehouse library for a couple minutes of quiet during a very busy Homeschool Day at the Capital in January.

Emily and I last summer at an outdoor concert by Michael Cavanaugh featuring the music of Billy Joel.

Arlene and I last November seeing the Bison. Kurt and Em were down on the path and missed the picture. Brr it was cold that day!

My Mom, niece and nephew, the girls, and I at the Zoo last summer during their Lego sculpture exhibit. Cool animals and Lego. Everyone had fun and I texted the picture to my Brother& SIL. Shouldn't everyone get to join in when the cousins come to visit?

The girls and I being goofballs after our shift was over during one of the various Symphony on the Prairie concerts last summer.

So what do these pictures tell me?

They show me reminders of how good it is to spend time one on one, or together with our girls, mostly outdoors, and away from the everyday of schooling. If I was a mean Mama, I could have turned any one of these experiences into a report-worthy event to add to their portfolio...but I didn't! We just went to have fun. 

While the girls and I may be always learning, I don't have to be always recording what they learn in my record book, and I definitely do not want to dampen their enthusiasm for field trips by making them write reports. Memories are much more important than grades!

Mama Time should be second nature to us. We started out reading books and playing toys with our children, but somewhere along the way we get sidetracked. We get caught up in a shiny new curriculum, or worried over whether or not we have enough days' worth of math lessons completed, or someone gets sick and we feel like we should try to catch up. Those are all myths Mama, come back to reality with Eternity in mind! The reality is that we should be talking with our children daily about God and His creation. We should be telling them about our Savior, Jesus Christ, and all He has done for us. Our responsibility as Mamas is to love our children like God the Father loves us. With grace, with correction when necessary, but always with forgiveness and love.

Would not you rather be teaching a botany lesson about Spring flowers at the park than working another worksheet on parts of speech? I'm not saying chuck it all and forget about your children's education entirely.  I'm simply suggesting that you loosen up, relax, and remember that God is the one Who holds their futures. Trust Him. Love Him. Love your children. Do something out of the ordinary this week, and make a memory with your children.

Mama, Spring is here again, what are you going to do about it? Will you choose to make memories with your children, and maybe even throw in a few goofy selfies, or will you choose to trudge on through those books, to the detriment of your relationship with those precious children God has entrusted to your care?

On Sunday we will lift our voices together in worship to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Don't wait until Sunday to experience that joy. Mamas need joy, and so do their children!

Start today, start with joyful Mama time, and some fun with your children. And if you can grab him, throw Dad in the mix of fun - after a long day at work - he needs it too!



Linking up with Annette & Amanda and a bunch of other friends for blogging through the alphabet