Sweet Revelations

This past week I had the joy of visiting my sister and new nephew, Michael, who is appropriately named after my wonderful father. It was a blissful week of diaper changing, shooshing, burping, rocking, singing and doting on this new precious angel. Though the days were extremely busy with little "down" time I found myself in awe at the beautiful task of motherhood. My sister, selfess and caring as she is, was a sight to behold. Runing on little sleep she amazed me with her stamina, patience, grace and such unconditional love for both Michael and her sweet two year old Charlotte. As I watched her nursing and caring whole heartedly for her children I coudn't help to think how lazy my life seemed back in Seattle. I silently realized how much I take my time for granted, how much I take the luxury of working from home for granted, and how much time I spend on myself. 

Whether or not you are a parent, aunt, uncle, sister or brother, husband or wife we all know what it is like to care for others, but do we fully grasp the call we have on our lives to put others before us, to serve and love despite the lack of sleep, free time or strength we may have? I was deeply challenged by this very quesiton. 

I am not saying taking time for yourself is wrong, but I challenge you and myself to evaluate how we spend our days. I have to ask myself: am I cutting corners cleaning the house, am I throwing together a lowsy meal for my husband because I would rather waste time on the computer, am I helping my friends, am I reaching out to my community? All these questions swirled through my head as I watched my sister pour everything she had into those two little ones, and at the end of day she gave what little she had left to her husband. Sure, she struggled and felt spent at times but what a hard day's work she had, what a ministry she lead, what an inspiration she is!

Although we don't have children (yet:) I really want to put in a hard days work, whatever that looks like. I want to be productive and put all I have into everything I do. I want to invest in others and share my free time. And my prayer is that when the time does come and God blesses us with children I will remember everything my sister taught me, not just how to properly swaddle a baby, but how to be selfess, humble and giving...even when the days are long and I feel I can't give any more of myself. 

Haley, you are my inspiration and I can't thank you enough for giving me so much to look forward to!

Comments

[elizabeth]

what a wonderful post. thanks for sharing. it is too true how many hours of our lives are wasted minutes at a time without a thought.

[Sherri B.]

Your sister sounds like a wonderful woman. Being a stay at home wife and mother is a full time job with plenty of overtime for sure. It seems to me that the fact that you recognize her love and devotion to family, is a big clue that you too, even though you do not yet have all of those duties, will be looking quite a bit like this sister that you admire so...Thank you for sharing..Have a wonderful day.

[Aubrey]

Wonderful post. And so good of you to see the value in life after little ones. It is the most exhausting, challenging, hard days work ever. There are days with a new baby that I think I cried more than the baby cried! BUT, I discovered a new me that I never knew existed. All those long days and nights tending to and loving and feeding and changing and rocking tirelessly made a more thoughtful, humble, empathetic, kinder me and I got three little birds that crack me up and cuddle me and challenge me everyday! I only wish I had truly cherished that time before kids with my Hubs more... we just had no idea... how could we? It sounds like you got a great glimpse into new mommy life and now you will be able to appreciate where you are now even more. I don't think anyone should ever feel guilty for having "me time". It's so necessary and there will come a day when even going to the bathroom alone will sound like heaven, so I say soak it all up! Your Sis. sounds like an amazing Mama!!

[Lillian]

What a beautiful post!

[Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen]

Aw. I love this post. I've thought a lot about time management lately. I've felt like I have so many things to do yet not enough time, but I'm single. I have no kids. So why is hard for me. And I think it's what you said here. I simply spend too much time fiddling around, doing not much of anything. Sometimes it's good to step away and figure out what the problem is, even if it ends up being yourself, which can be a little depressing/difficult to admit. The photo of your nephew is absolutely beautiful!

[Carrie]

Blessings to you and your family!

[Jennifer]

First, what a precious angel! Michael has such long fingers and toes. Such a cutie!

I agree that caretakers sometimes need time for themselves and that we should all be the best in that caretaker role that we can be-I often feel guilty for not being 100% every day.

What a lovely post!!!!

[nikki]

you are amazing for being able to not only have this reflection, but to share it with the world. i am very close to my sister and am constantly in awe of her ability with her 3 little ones, all under the age of 5. what a lovely dedication to your sister, too, this is a special post and a well deserved one. and that nephew---how adorable. this was very inspiring to read and i will take that challenge : )

[Shaheen {The Purple Foodie}]

Congratulations Aunt Coco! :) Such a gorgeous photo - he looks so peaceful.

[Dimitra]

What a lovely family!...Your post is very touching. Your sister is indeed inspirational, and you will become a great mother too, when time comes. We don't have children yet either but it's something we really wish for and we are willing to spend all of our time and energy there!...
Thank you very much for this wonderful post!...

[Cannelle Et Vanille]

so precious! congratulations!

[fresh365]

So sweet! What a great time to sit back and reflect. I have learnt so much from watching my good friends and family about how I want to be as a mother some day. Always learning! What a precious photo for your amazing sister.

[rick]

coco, your blog is one of the few that i actually enjoy reading the thoughts as much as ogling over beautiful photographs. always sincere and so inspiring, thank you.

[Golubka]

He is so precious, I keep admiring the photo! Beautiful passage too, parenthood is such a rewarding experience.

[Dawn (KitchenTravels)]

Is there anything more wonderful in this world than a new baby? I think not. I could spend hours just breathing in the new-baby smell of their little heads. :) As a mother of three, including identical twins, I can tell you that motherhood is the most challenging, wonderful, exhausting, inspiring, heart-breaking and heart-warming of experiences. Until I had children of my own, even though I spent a lot of time with friends' and family's kids, I really didn't appreciate the magnitude of it. You'll see. :)

[brenda bruce]

What an absolutely beautiful photograph! That precious life is such a blessing from the Lord! Congratulations to you and your sister.

[Anja (Savorychicks)]

I stumbled upon your wonderful blog today by mere accident. What a pleasant surprise!! It is a beautiful blog - amazing pictures! And this article very inspiring! A foodblogger and new mom myself, I have exactly the same thoughts these days. How much of my limited time do I devote to my little angel, how much to my husband, to working, cooking and foodblogging and how much to myself?? It is a decision that is made over and over again with every new day. Of course there are always trade-offs, but it seems one always finds time for what is most important in life... I hope your wish comes true and you'll be blessed with children and the great experience of motherhood. And I look forward to reading more from you.

[Julie]

Oh Caitlin, this is beautiful! Such a wonderful encouragement and reminder. Thank you!

[achowlife]

Congratulations on being an aunt again. A lovely post! Lots of good questions. What do we do with the time? I know I waste loads of it! I'll let you know how and if that changes with the birth of my little bun in December! xoxoxo

[Enila]

Ohh so cute !!! Tous mes voeux de bonheur à toi et à ta famille. Congratulations to you and your family !!

[Betsy]

What a beautiful photograph! It is so great that you see and appreciate the hard work your sister is doing - so many full-time mothers do not receive this recognition. Lovely post!

[Sara]

very sweet thoughts :) you are so right, I can't wait to get married so I can totally commit to taking care of someone all the time :) your nephew is gorgeous!