As I cleaned out bits of food from the high chair for the ump-teenth time last week, I was reflecting on how futile it seemed. I would be cleaning out the same high chair again just a few hours later. Why bother?
There are a lot of things in parenting that seem futile. Repeating admonitions. "No touch." "Stay downstairs." Tackling the unending mountain of laundry. And diapers. And dishes. Did I mention the diapers?
Occasionally though, I get a glimpse of the importance of all these things.
Case in point, I get rather angry when Desmond is difficult at mealtime. I've learned to stop and take a deep breath when my frustration gets too high. Recently, I put the spoon down, closed my eyes and took a nice long breath. Feeling calmer, I opened my eyes to see Desmond smiling at me. He proceeded to take a deep breath and imitate me blowing it out slowly. We both cracked up.
I had no clue he notices those kinds of things. I'm glad he's imitating me doing that rather than throwing a spoon down. (He certainly doesn't need encouragement there!)
What else might he pick up from my daily habits? It's a reminder to persevere in tackling the dull, repetitive, "futile" parts of life with an attitude of excellence. And it's an encouragement to see them as a service to God and to little watching eyes.
(P.S. I may try to faithfully wipe down high chairs, but I still think making a bed is futile unless you live in a dorm room!)
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6 comments:
I feel the same way about sweeping up the food. And picking up the toys. Immediately, the mess is there again. Now if I could only get them to imitate me DOING those things.
I love that he imitated you and you both started laughing! That is an adorable picture to think about!
Don't let Ryan hear the part about making the bed ... Making the bed ensures that at least at the beginning of the night, we both have the same amount of covers, and I can lay any way I want and still be warm and cozy. Now, I have no problem with leaving the bed unmade for the whole day - it just has to have the covers in a somewhat square arrangement before I can sleep. :)
You painted a great picture of Desmond imitating you, that was really cute. :)
Such a good story! There are also days when you just have to let things go, as long as it's not every day!
Kate - Ha! I'm with Ryan on this one. Each night when Peter comes to bed after I'm asleep he has to completely re-arrange the covers with me beneath them because I've destroyed any semblance of order or balance. We must suffer from some sort of imbalance. haha. ;-)
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