these are the days

Unloading the dishwasher is one of my least favorite tasks, especially when the dishes begin to pile in the sink. I try to stay on top of unloading it (because really, how long does it take? 5 minutes, tops?), but let's be honest, other things come up and I can't get to it.

I especially dislike unloading all the sippy cups (and reassembling all the parts), the small plastic bowls, the big plastic bowels, and any other kid-ware. It all just seems cumbersome. It feels like it goes in cycles: some weeks I'm totally on top of it, and then I get in a slump and can't seem to get out of it. And if my duties as a mom are left stacking up, I have a difficult time focusing on playing with my kids. I know I'm not alone.

The other day as I opened the dishwasher I was greeted with this colorful sight and as silly as it might sound, I sort of stopped and took it all in. It will only be a few more years that my dishwasher will look like this. Soon the toddler years will be behind us and new dishes will replace these.

And my 3 children will be that much older, that much more grown-up.

Let's be honest, so many of the tasks of our days as moms are so very, very mundane. Sometimes I just can't stand it, so I have to pack all my children in the car and go for a drive, see the ocean, get an ice-cream or coffee, and listen to classical music on the radio. I need something different than my routine (which I do love, don't get me wrong). Perhaps that seems silly. My point is, even though the mundane drives me to feeling stir-crazy all too often, I don't want these days to pass me by without taking in all they have to offer: my children's sweet smiles and kisses, their morning breath and silly antics, their warm, outdoorsy-smells after playing in the sun, the conversations had over meals, and yes, even the difficult moments we walk through daily.

These are the days. These are the days I want to tell myself to slow down, take it all in, and enjoy the mundane. Relish it. Because my children will grow up before I know it.

These are the days I need to stop racing past the silly or quiet or a whole host of moments with my kids because I'm going bonkers thinking about all the items on my "to-do" list. I need to clean less, enjoy them more, and allow my 3 beautiful, wonderful children to teach *me,* too. Because, oh, how I have grown in my role as a mother. For the better. And deep down, I do want to continue to grow.

So, bring on the sippy cups, the melamine bowls in every color of the rainbow, the stickers, the silly putty, the bubbles, the same questions and conversations, the tears, the joys. For these are the days.