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By Meredith Ethington

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Tiny Little Miracles

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My husband walked the girl, as we affectionately call her, to school as I had another appointment. After returning home, he told me I needed to make sure and take the boys down the street and around the corner at 10 AM because the construction crews would be pouring concrete at that time. Our neighborhood is getting speed bumps. Joy. I scoffed, “You expect me to remember that?” Honestly, my mind was swirling with to-do lists already by 9am, and adding one more thing to my list didn’t sound that appealing.

I got busy working on my list, and looked up and saw that it was 9:58 am.  I was ahead of my own not-so-absolutely-critical schedule. So, I decided to take the boys around the corner to watch construction guys pour concrete. Not exactly my form of entertainment, but for a 4 year old, and an almost 2 year old little boy? It was magical.

On the way home, we soaked up the weather, picked flowers for mommy, and pointed out bees. We slowed down a bit and enjoyed the morning. As we rounded the corner to our house, I felt the anxious feeling of all the things I had to do creep back in. Grocery store. Laundry. Etc. Etc. Etc. I decided to pick the little guy up right then and there and throw him in the car. As I pulled on the door handle, I was grateful that it was unlocked. A tiny miracle in my day. It may sound silly to some, but that’s how it felt to me.  It meant not having to take him inside to hunt for the keys, and with my hands full of diaper bag, grocery bags, a child, and everything else get back into the car.

I headed out to the grocery store and realized that I had forgotten my list. I took a deep breath and prayed to have enough focus to remember everything I needed, so a return trip wouldn’t be necessary. I did. Another tiny miracle in my day.

We made it home and the boys ate lunch and played for a bit, and I got my littlest one down in time for his nap. And, Kyle was settled for the moment in front of sesame street for his quiet time. Then, a friend called. She had something for me at my front door. She brought me a treat for my birthday (which is in two days). I had jokingly posted this delicious recipe on Facebook after salivating over them on Pinterest, and said, “Will someone make these for me?” My friend Rayna jumped to action and made them for me as an early birthday gift. It made me feel loved and truly blessed to have a friend like that in my life. Another tiny miracle in my day.

After she left, my 4 year old was not entertained by sesame street. He was interrupting me every few minutes for something which then led to a complete throw-yourself-down-on-the-floor tantrum. I was able to put on my vest with an “s” for a moment and be incredibly patient, and lay down with him on my bed. The kitty joined us, and this happened.

 

He didn’t even budge when I took this picture. Another tiny miracle in my day.

The truth is, on any other given day, I could have looked at all of these things much more negatively, or I could have missed them all together. Because, as parents, our lives are full. So full that sometimes we can hardly breathe. So full that we sometimes miss the little blessings that happen in every day miracles. I know I’m guilty of that.

I believe that every single day there are little tiny miracles happening. We just have to be open enough, and in tune enough to see them.

One of our church leaders gave a great talk titled, “The Tender Mercies of the Lord” that talks about just that. How the Lord is there to bless us everyday, but we have to be open to letting Him. We have to recognize these tiny miracles as the tender mercies from Him. I believe that, but I don’t always see it.

So, how do we see it? I don’t have all the answers. But, I know that trying to slow down, and breathe, and sometimes tossing aside the to-do list when a little boy wants to watch cement be poured are probably the key. Even if you think there is no one looking out for YOU, there is. He is.

Some might say things like my door being unlocked are just because I forgot to lock it the night before, or a kid falling asleep is just because he is super tired and I took the time to sing him some lullabies. But, recognizing the Lord’s hand in the every day moments are what brings peace in a world that is struggling to see peace. To me, knowing that Someone Else is looking out for me, and my little world, besides myself, is a comfort all its own.

This doesn’t mean that I am any more special than you. In fact, He loves you just as much as He loves me. It just means that I am choosing to see the tiny miracles with eyes wide open today instead of simply thinking that I am doing this motherhood thing all alone. I’m not. He’s there looking out for me, and today I noticed.


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Comments

  1. Rayna says

    August 27, 2013 at 3:36 pm

    Cutest pic ever with Kyle and the demon cat!! 😉

    Reply
    • fakingpictureperfect says

      August 27, 2013 at 3:37 pm

      hahaha! I know! She is so evil. But, just sweet enough that we can’t get rid of her.

      Reply
  2. Alison says

    August 27, 2013 at 6:10 pm

    How wonderful, to recognize the small moments. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s really all about, isn’t it?

    Reply
  3. Lindsey says

    August 27, 2013 at 7:36 pm

    That is an awesome picture with Kyle! So sweet.

    I appreciated the little moments today, too. I emailed you about one…

    Reply
  4. wildninja says

    August 27, 2013 at 10:41 pm

    The picture of the kitty with your son should win an award. That is priceless! I hope you frame it. The cuteness factor is off the charts!!

    Reply
    • fakingpictureperfect says

      August 28, 2013 at 1:14 pm

      thank you!

      Reply
  5. cookie1986 says

    August 28, 2013 at 6:44 am

    Loved this. Totally!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. It’s OK. Admit It. You will Never Sleep Through the Night Again. | Faking Picture Perfect says:
    October 9, 2013 at 11:14 am

    […] what keeps me going? The tiny little miracles in everyday. We’ve all had them. We’ve all watched our kids do something SO adorable that we forget […]

    Reply

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Welcome! I’m Meredith.

Mom. Writer. Diet Coke connoisseur. Born and raised Texan. Lover of real talk and laughter with a hint of sarcasm mixed in.

The Mother Load

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Meredith Ethington

perfectpending

Mom • Author • Mental Health Therapist In Training
Grab my new book, The Mother Load, available now. 👇👇

Night night! 😤 Night night! 😤
If you missed my last post about how raising teens If you missed my last post about how raising teens can wreck you mentally….wellll this is part of the reason why. So lonely! But we are in this together somehow. 😂 Make sure to check out my latest substack and grab a copy of my book —- The Mother Load!
NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid years, it’s no longer really acceptable to call a friend and air the annoyances of the situation. At least not the specifics.

Sure, you can commiserate with a fellow parent about teenagers being the worst.

But, to be honest - they’re not the worst. They’re kind of amazing. But their problems make me tired to my core." 

Read the latest on my substack. I promise you'll relate. ❤️
So sweet. ❤️ Follow me @perfectpending and bet So sweet. ❤️
Follow me @perfectpending and better yet buy my book or subscribe to my substack to support me.
"I don’t know about you, but I don’t really wa "I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want same-ness anymore. I want messy. I want admissions that shit is hard and we don’t have it all together. I want to have a makeup free, messy bun in my sweats run in with a mom friend and not feel worried she’s checking out my un-groomed eyebrows.

I don’t want to try to give off this illusion that I’m control of my life any better than the next person. It’s a shitshow for all of us, and we continue to hide it for fear of what? Being human?"

Read the rest on my Substack. Link in profile.
WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I MISS IT? What if I miss the best time of my life. What if it’s right this second?
What if it’s right now while I’m in finals week of grad school, and have a kid that’s sick? 
I already miss so much. The gummy smiles of babes without any teeth. The squeaky voices of 2 year olds. The babbling of a baby that’s just trying so hard to say mama. The grammar mistakes my kids make when they’re talking that I don’t have the heart to correct because I love it too much. 

I miss a lot about those younger years that have already slipped away. My youngest is sick, much like in this picture, but he is too big to snuggle in my arms now when he’s running a fever. 

Today I had the thought, what if this is it? What if this IS the happiest I’ll ever be?
For a moment, I lingered in that thought as I stood over my sink and did the dishes. I started to cry.
Am I missing it? AM I? I felt a tug that maybe I was. Maybe I wasn’t relishing enough, and enjoying enough, and being present enough.
But, then I realized, it will never be ENOUGH. 

Read the rest in my substack ❤️
New year, same me. 😂 #mentalhealth #anxiety #de New year, same me. 😂
#mentalhealth #anxiety #depression
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I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of th I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of this. *sweeps arm generally at planet earth*

Look, I’ve never been a half glass full kind of gal. I can ALWAYS find the negative in every situation. 

But, right now it’s easy to say that I’m over it. It being.....

The state of our economy. Social media. People being unemployed. People being racist and homophobic. The debate over politics. People judging people. ALLLLLL of it. 

Everything is crap right now. We joke about it a lot. We have to in order to survive. 

It’s the one millionth day of January but Spring feels so far away. 

I’m over these four damn walls that we call home. 

Yeah, I know. Even as I’m typing this it all sounds like a bunch of ungrateful whiney BS. I hear it. I don’t need you to point it out, Karen. 

But, my guess is you’re reading this right now and realizing you’re over it too. Whatever “it” is in your life.

Some days the world feels like total crap. Everything is a mess. Everything costs too much. For E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y. 

Yes, even for you Karen. ➡️➡️ to keep reading.
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But, the loss of yourself in motherhood is real. And It’s not talked about enough." 

Do you feel like you lost yourself in motherhood? How? I really want to know. 

Psss - I am in grad school to become a therapist, and am not ashamed to ask that you subscribe to my paid substack. I just lowered the cost to $36/year! That's like $4/month and you'll have access to all my previous posts, and some new weekly short posts to give you ideas to help with balancing motherhood and your own mental health. I'm learning a lot in school, and will only continue to do so, so subscribe and we'll support each other. ❤️
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Saaaame. @womenwhorunwiththemoon Saaaame. @womenwhorunwiththemoon
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Found in my pediatricians office. 🤣 What’s th Found in my pediatricians office. 🤣 What’s the moral of the story friends? If you think your household is always sick - it’s because they probably are. Kids make everything more germ-y
Here’s what I do know 👇 No one knows what th Here’s what I do know 👇

No one knows what they’re doing. 
We all feel like imposters. 
Our kids love us anyway. 
We’re all going to be OK. 
You’ve got this (as much as any of us do) 😘

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"By trying to be perfect, we're actually trying to "By trying to be perfect, we're actually trying to avoid being human." 

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Some of you wanted sources on my last reel where I Some of you wanted sources on my last reel where I said we only need to be getting it right 30% of the time for our kids to have secure attachments. Well I wrote a bit more about the concept of being the “good enough mother” a term coined in the 50’s by a researcher and pediatrician. Check it all out in my newest post. Link in profile.
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