"Ring Ring" Are you really there mom?

Being a mom this last week taught me that me to be present in the moments, especially when they involve family.
I know you all have missed me this last week. Please put your Kleenex away, because I'm back, there's no need to cry. Ryan and Brayden were gone for a week in Missouri and so I may have been a little consumed with them when they returned.  I was acting like so much had changed in the handful of days he had been gone. I swear to you, all the sudden Brayden was looking like a teenager ;)
For a few days after they returned, I didn't want to miss a moment and every time I would see him laugh or crawl or poop (ha ha, you know the red eyes), I would be right there smiling like I had just witnessed a one-of-a-kind act. A few days after, as things became more normalized around the house, I was feeding him his bottle before bed, and I caught myself trying to send some work emails on my phone at the same time. I don't know why it caught me off guard, I know I do it all the time, but in that moment I realized that often I am not present with the time I share with Brayden and probably Ryan as well. Does it take them leaving the country for me to want to ravish all those special moments. Let's face it, the email I was sending could have waited another ten minutes, goodness, it could have waited till the next day. But the moments I have with the special people in my life, whether family, friends, or pets those are taking place right in front of me!
Sometimes I think we feel like childcare is so much "work" that we forget to really enjoy it. Brayden is actually pretty hilarious right now. He's mischievous and completely adorable. To choose my phone over him, well honestly it's insulting. I get upset with Ryan if he can't take a second to look away from the hockey game to listen to me  (or basketball game...or football game...really any game on ESPN), and there's really no difference with me doing the same thing to Brayden. I'm in no way am I'm saying we don't need breaks, we are only human! But when those breaks are finished, do we actually take in the moments after that?
Life is amazing and so precious, and this last week has reminded me once again of that. So here's to SELF IMPROVEMENT! I don't care if you're a mom, an aunt, a brother, a dad, etc, I think this applies to everyone! You can choose your own goals, but the hope for myself is that I close my computer, put away my phone, open my arms and heart, and roll my sleeves up so I don't miss the good, the bad and the ugly little moments God has given me.