Written while we were still living in Illinois.
A few Saturdays ago I surprised the girls (my 2 year old daughter and my 10 year old SIL, with whom we currently live) with a fun breakfast of animal toast. It was something very simple and it did not take very much effort on my part (probably about 20 minutes). Saturday mornings are normally chore mornings and this fun surprise was something totally different than the normal routine. And to be honest I had zero desire to do it that day. I had found the idea in a magazine awhile ago, and just had not gotten around to it. It felt like a lot of work (but it really wasn’t).
But I am SO glad that I did it. H. Jackson Brown Jr. said “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the thing that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” This simple act made their whole morning and we ended up sitting and chatting together much longer than usual as they ate their fun breakfast. My daughter kept hooting like an owl and kept talking about the animals. And they kept smiling. It was a great reminder to me about taking advantage of each little moment. Now this may not have necessarily had a spiritually implication (or maybe it does…), but I was reminded that making memories with our children doesn’t need to be complicated. Yes, well planned out trips to the beach or a theme park can be great for making memories, but so can making a fort in the living room, or going for a little hike at a nearby state park, or having a tradition like pancakes on Saturdays or Tacos on Tuesdays.
In her book Memory Making Mom (I HIGHLY recommend reading it), Jessica Smartt talks about how God can use food to minister, heal, show love, and create last memories. But obviously it’s not just about the food. It is so easy for me (and I am sure for you) to pass up on opportunities to take each moment to love on my family. I often can be a “Martha” and become so task oriented that I miss beautiful opportunities to soak in what the Lord has for me-and opportunities that He wants me to create for those around me. I finished Memory Making Mom only a few weeks ago and I am already thinking about when I should reread it to continue to digest everything that Jessica shares.
She shares about creating beauty, being spontaneous, Holiday traditions, learning together, serving others, one-on-one time, work, rest and faith. She shares multiple ideas (from her own family traditions and from other families that she knows) for each topic, different holidays, and different months of the year. And by no means is the point to do everything-or to get totally overwhelmed by all the options. She wants mothers to be encouraged that there are VERY many ways to create memories and life-giving traditions with your family. It gave me so much to think about that I had never even considered before and helped to solidify some ideas and traditions that we know we want to try with our own family.
Making the animal toast for the girls was honestly simple-you don’t have to be a cook or an artist. If this is not your thing-no worries. There are SO many fun and easy ways to make our days special for our children and our husbands. And maybe some days we won’t feel like doing it and we don’t-but other times we push through and do the thing and realize that it is TOTALLY worth is.
Jessica Smartt shared “There is no magic button to make a happy, enriched home. It is, truthfully, a long repetition of choices made all day long, like storing up acorns in a tree hollow for winter.
-Yes, I will read that book.
-Yes, I will bake cookies and let you measure it out.
-Yes, we can stop and examine this dead worm.
-Yes, I’ll stay up late so we can talk through questions (even though I’m exhausted).
-Yes, I will read that book (again).
Let us not become weary in learning alongside our kids even when it is frustrating. It is the good, good work”
Thank you for the wonderful reminder to cherish the small, sweet moments of life, Lauren. I love how you took the time to make these adorable animal toasts and brought some extra joy and smiles to start your day of chores 🙂 I zoomed in to check out the details…thinking this will be a fun snack to make with Addie!