Pages

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Bigger Picture Moment: It's The Whispers

This is about the simple things, right?  Those things that are so forgettable that we tend to overlook them in their moments, and gloss quickly to the next item in our day.  Skipping right to the awful, the frustrating, the mind-blowing, the hilarious.

Which leaves a day full of whispers that we won't hear if we don't stop for a bit.  Focus.

So here goes the focus.  The simple things I've been appreciating lately in an attempt to hear the whispers:

A breeze on wet skin
Curly baby-hairs after a swim
Impromptu dance parties
Watermelon
Melted marshmallows stuck to cheeks
Mama?  I need a hug.
Wide, shy eyes
Squealing over grasshopper hunts
Elbows and heels stretching my middle out
Daddy's hooooome!!!
Sweaty glasses of ice water
A new box of crayons
Kitchen helpers
Moonlit nights serenaded by bugs
A pillow supporting this belly
An email from a friend
The smell of sunscreen
Vacuum tracks on the floor
Here, Mia!  You can have one of mine!
Oranges
Shade
Beds made by a 5-year-old
Songs made by a 3-year-old
There you go, Lauren -- I found your blankie.
Cold hose water
A task checked off a list
An unexpected refund
Sisters holding hands
An early bedtime
Giggles in the dark with my husband
I want to help, mama!


And if you put all of those whispers together, it becomes quite overwhelmingly loud.  Louder than all the heat and bickering and possibility for disaster.  Louder than boredom.  Louder than frustration.  Louder than perfect days and perfect outcomes.  So loud, in fact, that they become the truth of our days, and all the other things become peripheral.

The whispers are the things that will sustain us when we're old, thinking back on our days as young families, making our lined faces crinkle with remembered laughter.  The whispers will remain when all the major things fall by the wayside.  It's the whispers that matter most.

But only if we take the time to notice them.




What have you heard from your whispers these days?  Share them with us today at Undercover Mother, where our Bigger Picture Moments are all spilling forth.  It's easy!  Link your post, grab the button, and visit other participants' moments.  We love hearing about you!

9 comments:

  1. Goosebumps. The very essence of capturing the bigger picture through simple moments -- right.here.

    Beautiful moments, friend. An overarchingly beautiful whisper follows it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Daddy's home. Sharing. Sweaty water glasses. Baby curls. Yes. Yes, yes, yes!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I had to stop halfway through this and sit back, so I could quiet the noise in my brain and gather up the "whispers" I've flown by today....

    I love the ones you listed here. You captured it all: those private moments when the babe's kicking inside, the things our kids say and do that make us smile. Thank you for reminding this always-going-going-going mama to take note of the things I'll ache for when their time has passed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the melted marshmallows on kids faces...because you know there was a hanging out time to get those marshmallows melty. And that hang out time is always special.

    Loved this BPM. I'm glad you reminded me to hear the whispers throughout my day. So worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So very, very sweet. Oh, the strength of a whisper! Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's a good list! Loooove unexpected refunds, and giggles with the husband in the dark. Had one of those nights last week and it was refreshing amidst all of the chaos! Hopefully I will do my first linked post on something soon, if I can figure it all out!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I really liked this, Sarah. Such a pretty collection of whispers.

    ReplyDelete

Hmm...And how did that make you FEEL?