‘Instead I held you’: mum’s beautiful reminder that housework can wait
Let’s face it, when you are a mum the list of things to do is endless. Whenever you start one task, there are at least ten other things waiting to be done. Well, one woman’s words are hitting a chord with mums everywhere and reminding us to stop and savour the fleeting moments we have to hold our little ones.
Retired teacher and mother-of four Regan Long recently shared a beautiful post to her Facebook page, The Real Deal Parenting, titled Instead I Held You.
Image via Facebook.
“Today my patience has run thin and all I could think about was having a few minutes to myself, but as you fell fast asleep on my chest, it was an easy choice, despite a list of things needing to be done. Because instead … I held you,” she writes.
“I was going to get the dishwasher unloaded and the overflowing pile in the sink washed. But instead I held you.
“I was going to get the clothes folded that have been sitting in the dryer, re-fluffed one too many times. And I was going to rewash the laundry that sat wet over night. But instead I held you.”
The post concludes with a powerful sentiment.
“It turns out that my plans for this time weren’t going to accomplish what I have right here in my arms,” Regan writes.
“I found my calm and the peace and the satisfaction right here, right now, because of one simple choice… Instead, I held you.”
The words resonated with many of Regan’s followers such as Hilary Jonczak, who commented,
“Needed to hear this today! I need to always remember the mess will be there…my babies are growing too fast and I feel I’m missing it.”
And this mum Melissa Colella: “Last night I snuggled with my two year old and fell asleep. The dishes were waiting for me this morning but my pumpkin is already one day older.”
We all know a mum’s job is never done and there is now a report that proves it. According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, mothers go from spending a weekly average of two hours caring for others before their first baby is born, to spending as much as 51 hours a week once the first child arrives. Mums also increase the time they spend on housework – such as cooking, cleaning and washing – they all jump from an average of 16 hours to 25 hours a week.
So while the chores will always be there, the chance to cuddle your kids while they’re still little enough to love it, won’t. Grab those cuddles while you can.
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