The Power Of One Second.

"Just a second" I say over my shoulder as I attempt to finish wiping down the dining room table...but this is the very second my sweet 2 year old desperately needs me to find her paint brush. She is creeping into full melt down mode, and every second that ticks by gets us a touch closer to complete toddler devastation. In this moment I realize the power of the second. It's a tiny little space in time, and they pass each and every day without much thought or recognition. But in reality it only takes a split second for your life to completely change directions. It only takes this small glimpse of time for the powerful and the beautiful to take place. As I started to think on this a bit more I realized how blessed every second of my day can be if I only choose to look
for the blessings that they contain.
 The second I here "Mom" from the next bedroom in the morning. The second I get a sweet text message from my Darling wishing me a good day. And the second I step out the front door to feel the soft sun shine down on my cheeks. I realize how important it is to be here, now, in this very second. The T.V. is off, my baby is napping, and I hear nothing but the tick of the clock, and the clack of the computer keys. Right now things are at peace, and I am grateful. I spend so much of my time worrying about the future. Where will we eat on vacation this summer? It's going to be tricky to manage a food allergy outside the comfort of our home. What did the other children in her nursery class have for breakfast...and did they wash that peanut butter from their face and hands before rushing out the door? Where can I take her after our play date this weekend that will be as much fun as the Chick-fil-A play place the other little ones will be enjoying? But even as these thoughts and worries of the unforeseen, and usually manageable, future creep through my mind I am wasting tiny little seconds of my day. The truth is we will make it work. All of it. We wont starve on vacation, and she'll love to have a picnic lunch with me on the grass just as much as she would love Chick-fil-A. We could even blow some bubbles, maybe Grandma could meet us there. And truth is there is not one thing I can do to control what others have for breakfast, only what happens if she does have a reaction, so there's no use worrying about that either. I wonder how many seconds of my day are stolen away from me in a cloud of worry, doubt, and concern. I wonder how much more good I could be doing with my time, and my thoughts. So I now resolve to stop those sneaky second thieves, and allow myself to live in the present. To be here now. I promise to note the soft warm blanket that is draped across my lap. To smell the sweet bubbles drifting up from my little Scoot Boots bath. To notice, and be grateful for, the beautiful emergence of spring. And, to take those seconds back, and use them to show my loved ones that they are my world. It is up to me to teach my little one that although we must be very careful, and take certain steps to insure her safety, that the list of things in this world she can experience is so much longer than the things she can't. It is up to me to teach her how to find the beauty in the everyday, and be grateful for her many blessings. Life is beautiful. And now I am going to go live it! :)