Savor it! Riiiiiight...

One of my favorite mama friends and I just had a conversation about the term 'savor it'. These words seem to frequent the mouths of an older generation, normally directed at our age group. And we write it off because we've heard it a million times. 'Yes, I know these are the good ol' days.' 'Right, I get it.. my babies will be grown before I know it!'
And we may feel just the tiniest bit sarcastic about it all because, honestly, in the midst of diaper changing and sleepless nights and deciphering the thought process of a two year old we're not exactly feeling sentimental. 'Savor it. Riiiiiight...' And in the early years of marriage we try to find our place in this world. As we try to navigate the waters of home buying and business starting and family raising all while avoiding the sinking of our ship in credit card debt.. well, yeah, it's difficult to wrap sleep deprived minds around the fact that this is in fact 'the good stuff'.
But we do know they are right.

I know in the not-too-distant-future I will desperately miss these days. My babies are growing up at the speed of light. Derek and I are rapidly approaching anniversary number SIX! Life is a whirlwind. And the days can seem tedious and I want to stomp my foot in two-year-old style and declare that I 'just WON'T clean up any more toilet paper strung all over the bathroom.' (How can such tiny people make such colossal disasters, anyway?!) And we dream of days where we won't feel the weight of the world on our shoulders as we make these really, truly HARD grown-up decisions about life.
But I'm starting to realize that if 'that day' ever arrives, the day we have life all figured out and the mortgage is paid off and everyone is potty trained and sleeping through the night (and probably off at college....sob!) we'll reminisce, with longing, the crazy days of right NOW!
We'll giggle about all the times we had to whip off the highway and, in Chinese-fire-drill style, wrestle Owen out of car seat, pants, boxers and, yes, even shoes for a mandatory pee break. We'll remember Daniel's sweet baby laughter and the big, gummy smiles and the way these boys needed us with every fiber of their being, for even the tiniest details of life (all while demanding that they can do it 'all by myself'..) Derek and I will rock in chairs on the porch and talk about, believe it or not, the days when we absolutely did not have it all figured out. And we will miss it.

We visited my Grandma in her retirement home a few months ago. We brought our high decibel noise levels to a place of quiet and tranquility. We brought our messes of epic proportions to a spotless space. We brought excessive splashing to the swimming pool and inappropriate comments to the dining hall. And you know what these people said to us?! 'Thank you!' They thanked us for bringing our family, our life, our chaos in to their midst and reminding them of days gone by. They said 'Thank you for sharing with us..' and they gazed with longing as we hauled out approximately 32 bags (for a one night stay!) hollering, 'Owen, buddy, you only need to push the elevator button ONE time!!'
They looked at our crazy and missed it, missed every bit.
And then Owen whispers it to me, as I crunch my way through the peanut M&M he just handed me, 'Savor it, Mom!' And this giggle bubbles right out of me as realization sets in. This idea, this message of relishing the present, is being preached from both sides of the age spectrum; both young and old, trying to help me grasp the beauty of now. As Jim Elliot said, 'Wherever you are, be all there!' 
The key to this, I believe, is perspective. At the beginning of my motherhood journey, my sister-in-law told me, 'Everything is a season. Don't forget that.' And I am forever grateful for those words and the gentle reminder that life's only constant is change. In other words, may I refuse to let a certain phase overwhelm me.. for it shall soon pass. And may I be intentional about showing up for each day and savoring moments, regardless of whether they feel spectacular or mundane, for they shall soon pass. Take everything in stride, laugh a lot- even at especially at the messes- and be all HERE, wherever that may be!
When we realize the beauty of each moment is fleeting, may we squeeze a bit tighter and linger longer. When we live with the knowledge that this particular phase we are in will not be forever, the hard becomes conquerable and the good becomes that much sweeter! And today I refrained from rolling my eyes when that term 'savor it!' was thrown my way in the store. Baby talking in high pitched pterodactyl voice, toddler swinging from the cart, my crazy lunch lady hair in full swing as I try to figure out what we will make for dinner... and I step back and I take a mental picture, grin a silly grin and realize, yeah.. this IS the good stuff.

'For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.' Ecclesiastes 3:1