Time

I'm a bit of a time freak. May be it's from timing my workout runs or just trying to push as much as possible into one day, or telling my kids it will only take thirty seconds to unload the garbage and then timing it to see if I was right,  but where ever it comes from, I've learned a lot about time just by timing things. Did you know, it only takes five to ten minutes to fold a batch of clothes even though it feels like an eternity? I unloaded the dishwasher in less than two minutes record time. Time can really move quickly if you're not paying attention or you're not folding laundry. So when my daughter turned eleven, I thought, where did all the time go? Wasn't she just my sweet baby with curly flowing hair? And why does she want to go to the mall for her birthday instead of having a pinata at home like we have for the past birthdays?
I've really turned into a sappy mother. Soon I'll be the one stopping people in the park and at the grocery store saying enjoy your time with your kids because they'll be grown up before you know it. Of course it might be at least ten years from now since I do have fourteen month old.
What I really want to be able to tell people is how to stop time. No one has really told me the secret and there isn't really one, but I have learned that in order for it to slow down you have to reach out to your children ever day and not just make sure they have their coat or their socks or are wearing underwear. (we have that problem with one child in our house she likes to go commando and will sneakily take her underwear off when no one is looking and put her pants back on- the only way I know is she leaves underwear as a sign-oh Izzie) but really help them feel special at least in one moment in the day. I'm not a big note person or gift person, so my time helping them feel special is sometimes just hug and "I really like begin around you," or, "I am so glad you are in my life," or "do you know I love you more than anything?" (I said this one time to my oldest daughter and she said, "yes, except when your cranky .true, true but at least they know). I just started it this year and the time sadly has not slown down but its been more sweet, at least for me.