Living in the Moment

As a busy mother of three young children, I find it difficult to live in the moment. I am working on this because I don't want to look back in ten years and realize I missed out on everything. I do great things with the kids. I know I do but I am constantly thinking steps ahead and about what needs to be accomplished rather than enjoying the wonderful beings we've created.
Yesterday I let the house remain messy until the end of the day. I won't lie - it was tough for me. My brain doesn't always click when I am surrounded by a mess.
I took Gabriel to school and enjoyed watching the boys walk into the school. Alexander still looks so small when he's next to the other children in the elementary school. I took time to walk Gabriel to the bathroom when he asked and thorougly loved watching him follow through on things he needed to accomplish in the morning.
I took Alex and Lane to the grocery store and let them pick out things they wanted. They snacked on cookies. Hey, why not at 9 am rather than 4 pm?! We went to the nursing home. The kids charmed the socks off the residents and I felt like I was glowing again.
We picked Gabriel up at 2:30 and went to the library. The boys told the librarians that we have bed bugs. We don't but it was really funny to me. They watched a news story about bed bugs and they are obsessed with the idea. I'm a little grossed out about staying at a hotel in a couple weeks but I won't bring up the bed bug story or they won't sleep!
Lane was covered in marshmallows. A big mistake to give them to her in the car but it was cute!
So I challenge you to live in the moment today if you aren't already. Let the house stay messy. Let things sit for a while. It will be there later and I promise you will see things you didn't know were happening.