Chubby 2 year old feet pound the hallway floor ahead of me. No pitter-patter in this house. Always loud. Always fast. Always joy in motion.
Outstretched arms reach for walls just beyond the touch of your straining fingertips. Making contact would only have slowed you down anyway. But solid, sweet hands flutter regardless, feeling the wind created by your own speed. Speed. You feel so fast, so free. An unquenchable squeal escapes as you turn your head to look over your shoulder. As usual, you are checking to make sure I am following your lead. Crinkled nose. Sparkling blue eyes. Open-mouthed grin. How could I possibly resist following?
Lifting my knees in a march-style run designed purely to make you laugh; I bend my elbows and pump my fisted hands in a matching rhythm. Just as I predicted, you find me irresistible. Turning mid-stride, it is only by some miraculous maneuver that keeps you from tumbling backwards as you launch your small, wriggling body at me. It's with a practiced reflex that lets me catch you midair and swing you above my head, laughing with you at your exuberance.
Bursting through the doorway together, we have completed the trek once more. This dance we do down the hall with you in lead, me at your heels. It is a ritual of sorts really. One perfected by the repetitive trips made daily to the bathroom at the end of the hall.
It's one of those mommy-moments I never forethought in my daydreams of baby-bearing and rearing and all that would entail. But it is a moment worth celebrating with each and every child born. YAY you! And it is no matter that together we visit that tiny room in our house countless times each day. Every time we do it means you are a big boy now, all grown up and big enough to use the potty on your own, EVERY time!
Life's busyness doesn't always leave room to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Drinking tea from a proper teacup and saucer. Enjoying dainty treats made by hands other than your own. Laughing. Savouring the moments with friends made special through shared life-stories, hurts, triumphs, fears, laughter and joy. Deepening friendships newly made.
With the many to-dos waiting to be done and the varied lists of needs yet to be fulfilled, it's too easy to get caught up in the getting-it-all-done. It's too easy to be caught up in bearing daily life burdens alone. It's too easy to mistakenly think we are each the only one with these many demands on our abilities, on our resources of inner strength, on our oh-so-precious time.
But it was in the enjoyment of a tea party amidst a roomful of women of all ages and stages of life where I was reminded that I am not so alone as I sometimes delude myself into believing. It was in sitting with my dear friends that I was refreshed after a day made long by my own unkind, unprompted emotions. It was in the sharing of burdens when I was nudged to remember I am not the only one facing these daily struggles of motherhood and cooking and loving and cleaning and dreaming and praying for these families we are entrusted with.
It was a tea party with fancy hats, delicate teacups and saucers, a fun photo booth and friendships. We smiled. We laughed. We talked. We shared. A few of us even shed a tear as we listened to the life story of a woman made wise with embracing life as it unraveled before her. A story permeated with her trust that God would see her through both difficult and joyful times.
The day began with bearing emotional encumbrances alone. The day ended with a hot cup of tea infused with gentle reminders that I am not alone, that I am not the only one traversing this road of motherhood and womanhood.
Enjoying a cup of tea is all about slowing down the hurry's and the have-tos of the day to enjoy the moment. It is savouring the delicate aroma wafting from the warm amber liquid before that first lovely sip of infused flavour. Mingling our hearts and time with our friends infuses our joys so the harshness of life is lessened.
