There’s this little time period in the lives of our little ones when we get to mold their entire worlds.   It’s this tiny piece of time where parents or caregivers have complete control, control over what our kids eat, their schedules, who they interact with, and what they are exposed to.   When our two children were born, one year apart, until the youngest started kindergarten, was probably my favorite time of life.    I was fortunate to be able to determine the quality of our days together.

The outside world did not yet have much of an influence on their hearts and minds.  It was a fleeting speck of time and I treasured every second of it.   Yes, there were doctor appointments and medical issues we had to figure out.  But overall, our time was filled with playing, family, exploring, reading, play dates, games, pets, and church activities.  

One difference of that time period for parents of today is that we did not have technology vying for our children’s attention.   We had TV and VHS tapes 😊, but I didn’t even have a cell phone as a parent yet!   Mike carried one of the first portable bag phones for work and it was enormous! (He also carried an analogue radio and a beeper).   We only communicated with people through landline telephones at chosen times.  We were not constantly available.  Life really was simpler and slower.

I cannot wait to become a grandmother.   I know, though, that I will have to intentionally block out the world when I get time with little ones again.  I believe that parents today are under more stress and tension to constantly “be available” through all of our many devices.  There is a need to quickly respond, to check text messages, and to check emails. 

Isn’t okay to NOT be available sometimes, to put the phones aside?  Isn’t it okay to choose a simpler, slower, healthy pace at some point in the day?  Isn’t it okay to determine that from dinner for an hour or so, we are going to try to spend time together eating, talking, and possibly reading with our kids?  

I hope that I choose “slow and simple” in the formative years.   Heck, I need to choose more “slow and simple” time even with my husband now!  James 1:2 reads “Today, I choose JOY”.   Maybe, when we choose time to just BE with our children and to read them sweet stories and shut out the world, we are doing just that.  We are choosing simple moments of joy.