Perspective on Kid Interruptions

On Sunday, while I was staying home with my allergy induced sick kids, I came across the story of Layla Grace and her family through a tweet on twitter. Layla Grace is a precious two year old who has stage 4 neuroblastoma. If you would like to read her story go here, but I wanted to share a section of what this mother wrote on February 16th in her blog entry Sleep, Valentine's Day, and Regrets.

Layla now spends most of her days sleeping. 30-45 minutes after she wakes up, she is ready to lay down and sleep again. Is this God’s way of preparing me for all the quiet time that is coming soon? The house is quiet. I am able to go through the motions of laundry, dishes, cooking and picking up without interruptions. But I WANT interruptions. I WANT Layla to be under my feet asking for cookies. I WANT to hear her playing with her toys. I WANT to take 45 minutes to unload the dishwasher because she keeps trying to help. For every time I uttered the words “I just can’t get anything done with these kids under my feet all day” I am eternally regretful. The days that I looked forward to naptime so I could get a grocery list made, or finally fold all the piles of laundry…I regret those days too. If I could do it all again, I’d enjoy EVERY SINGLE WAKING MOMENT I had with her. I would never wish for her to sit still or take a nap or go to bed early. I would never look forward to the days when she could sit through an entire episode of Dora silently. I would treasure every second with her.

So I’ve spent the last few days in a quiet house, able to do whatever my heart desires. But all I want to do is wake her up and hold her. She doesn’t really want to be held much anymore. She prefers to be rocked in her dark bedroom for a little while, then laid down in her bed. She gets easily overstimulated by the noise of the other children downstairs. She wants dark, silence, peace and sleep. So we give those things to her. As much as it breaks my heart to not be able to hold her all day, I know her little body needs peace and sleep.

There are so many times am I that mom that wishes my kids would leave me alone so I can clean or fold laundry. Oh how I wept over my selfishness. I got up from sitting at the computer and spent time treasuring my kids. I prayed and thanked God for blessing me with Katherine & Sebastian and allowing me the opportunity to be their mom. Oh how my perspective changed!

PLEASE, join me in praying for Layla Grace and her parents, Ryan & Shanna Marsh.