Basking in the Mundane Moments
One of the routines that you would think is mundane. I know I will miss this.
"One day, you will miss this." If I had a dollar for every time someone said this to me, I probably would not have to work, ever. At the time, I would think, "Yes, I will, but only if I survive this stage so I can miss it."
My oldest with her daddy before her dance recital.
From dance class to gymnastics to volleyball training sessions and games to basketball training sessions and games, the car became our second home. Some days would be early morning sessions; other times, we would race to the activity after school and get home just in time for bed. Sometimes, these trips have been just down the road, while others have been hours away.
Pre-game prayer before the TVBA game.
Even though everyone prepares you for missing these days, they never talk about how precious those car rides are connecting with your kid. Let's face it. Life is chaotic. As moms, it's easy to get caught up in the day without adding these activities to the mix. We get caught up in the hustle and bustle and forget to slow down and savor the mundane.
These car rides are some of my all-time favorite moments with each of my kids. We have rocked out, laughed, cried, figured out how to overcome obstacles in their day-to-day life, and solved all the world's problems in the time spent in our car. (Man, those middle school years were brutal.) The kids just thought it was a ride to and from whatever. It meant nothing to them, but those hours spent in the car meant everything to me.
Cory and our youngest discussed the game strategy.
*Side note: You better believe I took the time when they were young to instill an appreciation for good music from the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s. What kind of mom would I be if I did not take the opportunity for them to appreciate good music while they were still young and impressionable?
Having one child who graduated from high school, I cherish those uninterrupted car rides and savor every moment I have with them now. Those moments are what help mold them into who they are going to be as an adult.
Cory and our oldest after one of her volleyball matches. Cory and our middle child after winning the Championship tourney during the TVBA league days. Cory and our youngest as he ran down our hall and jumped off the steps a few days before Cory's surgery.
Driving to one of our many training sessions, I looked at the one sitting beside me as she began her routine preparing for the session. She had done it a hundred times before, but this time it was different. The routine tugged at my heart.
At that moment, I realized that these are the snapshots of life I will treasure. Each one has their routine. Own way of prepping. Own way of doing things. I see them as the little toddler figuring out life, all while seeing them come into their own.
Each one of our kids is at various stages in their life. Precious memories I will always cherish.
It was my oldest daughter's senior year, so I was hypersensitive to these mundane moments. I knew they were fleeting. As I watched from a distance, I saw another parent having a moment with their child.
In March of 2022, the Lady Braves basketball team was playing the Championship game against the Choctaw Indians.
I was sitting in the stands waiting to find a seat for our game when I noticed something on the floor of the Coliseum. TC Lady Brave, Clara Garland, was over to the side with her dad, Bozie. No one was paying any attention; few, if any, even noticed them.
Clara Garland with her dad, Bozie, stretching her legs before her last basketball game.
As a mom, I knew it was a moment caught in time. Garland's dad stretched her legs before the game like he had done hundreds of times. Something mundane, right? Except it wasn't, at least not for them. It was the end of the road. It was her dad's last time because this was the end of her basketball career.
Our days with our kids are numbered from the moment we have them. If you think you have plenty of time, let me bust that bubble. If your child is graduating this year, you only have 17 Fridays (give or take a Friday or two) left until their high school years end.
My oldest with her drama teacher after their play won the regional drama
competition winner and advanced to the state competition.
Even if your kid doesn't participate in extra-curricular activities, they still have routines they do at home; things as a parent, you don't even realize because they feel insignificant, but they aren't.
Our middle child warming up before her AAU practice.
Look for those routines. Cherish those small moments. Just like they tell you one day, you won't even realize you picked your child up for the last time. One day, they will pull up those stinky knee pads. Slide into their rash guard. Wrap their ankle. Put on that tennis shoe. Or ask you to wash their uniform at midnight. All of these moments are everyday activities until they are gone. There will be no more stinky knee pads, rash guards, ankle wraps, athletic shoes, or midnight laundry sessions. One day, they will put it all away, and you will be left asking yourself how it all passed so fast.
These mundane moments in life are the days you will savor. They are fleeting. They are the days along life's journey that will bring you joy even when they are gone.
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