Being "In The Moment"

all photographs via The Glow...

I am really (really) loving The Glow lately…In fact, it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite spots on the interwebs for how it combines the poignancy and magic of motherhood with a serious dose of style. But I found the past two posts, which peeked into the worlds of Ramya Giangola and Jeanann Williams and their daughters, especially excellent due to the little nuggets of mothering wisdom tucked in among the dreamy photos of gorgeous rooms, perfect little shoe collections and awesome ombré hair… Amidst all that major style goodness, a couple of specific thoughts really resonated:


First there was this from Ramya:

"I try really hard not to let any of it pass me by. I don't want to take even a moment for granted." "I try to enjoy every moment, even the zany and stressful ones."

And then this from Jeanann:

"To create balance, I try to set my limits at work, plan, and be realistic. When I'm with Ruby I don't check my phone."


Not necessarily revolutionary concepts (the smartest concepts usually aren’t all that revolutionary), but these simple reminders to be present and in the moment, to eliminate distractions and embrace the inevitable chaos and stress of parenting are just, well...essential to this whole experience of motherhood.

This feels especially timely to me, as Bryan and I have been slogging through the whole summer childcare/work cluster... The lack of a solid routine is the bane of the working parent (actually I think it's likely the bane of all parents), and we have had a decidedly less than solid routine for the past month or so. (Jenna wrote a v. good post discussing this issue recently) Wonkily timed summer camps and overlapping business travel, have resulted in the girlies needing to keep themselves occupied a lot. Let's just say there are frequent refrains of, "will you play with me now" followed by, "right after I send this one last e-mail" at our house these days.

This is when I have to remind myself to stop and savor the little moments, acknowledging that (not to be cliché) the quality of our interactions is really more important than the quantity, and that when I do have a break, I have to unplug completely, gaze into the girlie's eyes and just sort of bask in them for a bit...

I also like to see what a little boredom in this age of over-scheduled, over-coddled kids can produce... It's usually pretty magical. When those two littles of mine are "on their own" they come up with some pretty freakin' awesome stuff. It's impressive. I bask in that too.