Lesson 4: They are ALL Little Things
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.”
This is the Lesson where I learned to enjoy my life while I can. There are so many parts to my Story. So many Seasons of my life. This Season I am sharing today is what I call the BEFORE part. It’s the Season of my life where everything was so GOOD. Yet, I was still a stressful mess at times. Looking back, I would give anything to have that stress…the BEFORE stress rather than the AFTER stress.
BEFORE + AFTER.
It’s my Story. It’s my life. And the Lessons I have learned from the BEFORE + the AFTER are what my 55 Lessons is all about.
Oh how I MISS the BEFORE part of my life. It was so VERY, VERY GOOD but I got in my way too much. I didn’t appreciate what I had. The unraveling of my world would begin just three years after this photo was taken. Nothing could have prepared me for what was coming.
It’s hard looking at this photo. I remember this morning. It was Christmas. I LOVE Christmas. Our family had lived in several homes throughout our BEFORE time and spent many Christmas’s together. When our kids were little we would go to our local Christmas Tree Farm to cut down our tree. Hot chocolate, cold winds + taking photos in Santa’s sleigh are what I remember about those times. They were so good.
My cute husband at Christmas. We had been baking cookies all afternoon!
When our son was in 5th grade + our daughter was in 3rd…Dave + I bought our Dream Home. No pics of that just yet as that is one of the BIGGEST lessons of all. One I can’t share right now…it hurts my Heart too much.
When you are in the middle of living your life, do you ever stop to appreciate it? Or is life just too darn busy? Practices, school, errands. work, cleaning, making dinner. Do you ever just take time to breathe…to take it all in? If there is one piece of advice I can give you in this ENTIRE series it is this….
TAKE IT ALL IN. STOP STRESSING ABOUT THE LITTLE THINGS AND THEY ARE ALL LITTLE THINGS.
The taking your kids to school, running to their sports activities or games or school plays…ENJOY IT ALL. NEVER COMPLAIN. EVER.
SAY YES when your family asks you to sit down and play a game.
SAY YES when they invite you to hang out with them.
SAY YES to any moment you get with your family.
Our son Jackson’s Birthday. He was born on December 27th.
We were at our local Mexican Restaurant where they put a sombrero on your head and sing Happy Birthday. This was an Ackman Family tradition.
This photo is one of the last photos of the BEFORE part of my life.
Just two months later I would be living the AFTER.
I know what it’s like to be a Mama of littles, of middle schoolers, of teenagers and now of adults. It’s not easy. The minute you become a Mama it’s like your Heart is living outside your body. The highs + lows of parenthood are REAL. But now that I am older and my children are grown, I look back and realize so much of the stress I put on myself. Not my babies. All children ask for is love + guidance.
Looking back on these BEFORE photos has brought back some heart-wrenching feelings. But they have also given me JOY. I am GRATEFUL for these memories + know we will continue to make new ones.
When my son Jackson was just a toddler I read the book “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff’. Each page contained a lesson to help new Mom’s be less stressful. Even though I read that book cover to cover several times, I never full grasped the meaning of it…until now.
Friends, the small stuff is what life is made of. If we spend our days, our hours worrying about every little thing that TRULY does not matter, we miss out on LIVING.
We don’t know what tomorrow brings. Take your family in. Surround them with love and kindness. Be giving of your time. Give them guidance. Especially when they are young so they can know what to do when those hard choices come later in their lives. Be a parent. Trust no one but yourself + your spouse. Listen to your gut. Don’t be selfish…give freely. Stop worrying about your house and how it looks. Make meal time easy. There is no need to cook a gourmet meal every night. Listen to your kids when they are trying to tell you something. NEVER take the other person’s side. TAKE YOUR CHILDREN’S. Be present. Don’t make rash decisions. GO TO GOD. Have Faith. Have Fun. Relax. Just Be. Do the family dinners and the holidays with Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles and Cousins. Get to KNOW your extended family. Have friends you love and trust. Give your kids the one thing they want and need from you…TIME.
Thank you friends for being here. I appreciate you all for reading. I would LOVE to know if YOU sweat the small stuff. And if you do I challenge you today to stop + take inventory of what is REALLY bothering you. I guarantee it’s not what you think. Maybe you just need more quiet time for yourself. Get up one hour earlier to take a walk, meditate + pray or create in your journals. Love your family. Hold them tight!
xoxo
Leslie
