Slow Down

 

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The title of this post is a little ironic. We've been doing everything but slowing down lately. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. I took my first work trip since Crosbi was born, which was also my first time away from her. Ever. Nothing like jumping in the deep end. I went from not spending a single night away from her to three nights. It was brutal. It was good for me professionally, but did a number on me emotionally. I felt like someone would be waiting for me at the airport to revoke my mommy card. Not sure I'm ready to add traveling to my job description just yet. But I did have a good time and had wonderful moments of feeling like the "old" me, so no regrets.

Then we had a bit of a freak accident. The day I got home from my trip, I had my eye poked out. Okay, it wasn't that dramatic, but it was terribly painful. I was reading books with Crosbi and as she reached up to play with my hair, her fingernail actually scratched my right eye. I fell to the floor in pain. A trip to the ER and some good meds later (plus some amazing help from my in-laws), I was better. The hardest part was that even though I was home, I couldn't see. Literally. It hurt to open my eyes. So three nights away from Crosbi felt more like six when it was all said and done. One of the toughest moments as a mom so far.

Praise God I'm fine and life is returning to normal. Sort of. Just as I was getting my eyes back, we made a quick trip to Missouri to see my brother graduate high school. I honestly don't know where the time has gone. When Todd and I moved to Nashville, my brother Drew was ten. As silly as it sounds, in my mind time stopped. When I return to Missouri he should still be ten. Not a grown man preparing for college. Time, please slow down. Please?

Although life has been busy and full, I find my internal pace slowing down and I'm really embracing the warm months to come. We joined a local CSA and I can already tell it is going to change how we share meals in our home. I love that I drive out to a farm each week to gather our fresh fruits and vegetables. I'm ready to pull out the blow-up pool and sprinklers to watch Crosbi play in the water while I drink iced tea on the patio. And today, I caught myself going 5 miles below the speed limit to run errands. For the person who got a speeding ticket earlier this year, that's a big deal. No need to rush. No need to speed up time. We have a super busy summer planned. Full of lots of good things, but as we come and go, I'm hoping to really slow down and enjoy the time I'm given. Before long I'll be watching my own baby girl accept her high school diploma. Heaven help me when that happens.

Until then, we're slowing down. We're enjoying the little things.