Although there was an amazing display of skating taking place on the ice surface right in front of me, I couldn’t take my eyes off my little girl, standing there in her princess outfit, her eyes all aglow as she waved goodbye to Mickey, Minnie and the rest of the cast of the Disney on Ice production. The look on her face as she processed everything that was happening in front of her is one that I will remember for a long time. In her eyes, I saw magic. It’s this magic that allows children to believe that lions and mice can talk, that fairy tales can come true, and that lying makes your nose grow three sizes. The best part, is that seeing the joy and wonder in my children’s faces allows me to grab a piece of the magic that I had long forgotten as well.
If I had to choose the most important thing that parenting has taught me, I would definitively say that it is the ability to take the time to be in the moment. Life gets busy, smartphones are very accessible and despite what you may read on Facebook or elsewhere, parenting can be really frigging hard, which can often lead us to think about the next thing instead of enjoying the moment we are currently in. This is something I struggled with early on in parenthood and only recently decided to make some changes in not only the way I parent, but also in the way that I treat life in general. I have slowed down and started to enjoy more of the every day moments that we often take for granted.
Not coincidentally, ever since my decision to start paying attention to more of the little moments with my children, I have noticed a heightened sense of awareness and appreciation of the things around me in all of my daily interactions. This new found awareness is something I wish I had discovered sooner but am grateful for nonetheless. It’s true that life is short, but life’s moments are even shorter. Make sure you take the time sit back and watch the magic unfold.
Chris Read is the owner and writer of the blog Canadian Dad. Please feel free to stop by to say hi and/or follow on Twitter or Facebook