2000

So for the non-medical professionals in our lives 2000 signifies 8 pm. In the Byrge household this signifies the most magical time of the day, CUDDLE TIME! Our day is always full of mundane activities...making breakfast, lunch, dinner and a litany of snacks throughout the day. Running errands, cleaning the house, mowing the lawn. There are bills payed and laundry done when the boys nap. Trips to the gym and miles are run...etc. etc. etc. All the things anyone who is reading this has, is, or will experience. So needless to say, by 2000 Josh and I are both exhausted. I recently was on the receiving end of some of the greatest advice I have ever been given by a very insightful friend (you know who you are ;) ). She explained to me what a gem is. We are not talking about the diamond in your engagement ring or the amethyst on your necklace or the pearl in your ear, people....we are talking about a Genuine Encounter Moment, or GEM for short. These are the little miracles in your day, the moments that take your breath away, the moments when you can see what really NEEDS your time, focus, and energy versus what WANTS your energy. This is all still new to me, but it is radically changing the way I raise my boys and how I navigate through my day. Gems are things like putting a dishrag down the very moment your baby tugs at your saddlebag and asks you to dance silly in the kitchen just because. A gem is letting several loads of laundry pile up so that you can take your babies to the pool...again...because you know it is purely joyful to them (even if it is 98 degrees and 80% humidity to get to the pool, travel to and from the pool, and clean up from going to the pool). Gems are hearing your 2 year old say to you completely unprovoked for the first time "momma, I love you to the moon and back". Henri is going to be 4, really in a few short weeks, and for the first time, I am truly learning to prioritize my kids when they have one-on-one time with me. It can be shameful to admit this or it can be liberating...today I CHOOSE liberating. I am learning to say to myself "Self, any single person that I know that may walk through my door right this second as I type this blog could give two shits about the fact that I should be exercising instead of blogging. They could care less that I have yet to clean the kitchen from dinner, I have 3 loads of laundry that need to be taken care of, I have a bathroom that is 5 days removed from a sponge and bathroom cleaner, and I have paperwork that needs to be filed. What any one of those people cares about is that I am happy as a wife, momma, and friend." Sounds like a super ridiculous pep talk, but I need it every.single.day. These gems are helping me on a daily basis refocus my energy. The only person that has expectations of me that are unrealistic is me...so I have to let it all hang out. I have to be all-in in this one life that I have to be momma and wife. In the words of Robert Plant, "I have been dazed and confused for so long it's not true". These unrealistic expectations have had me in a haze...it's time to clear the fog and move on. So what about that magical time. When 7pm roles around it is time for bath, vitamins, zyrtec, and story time...but when 2000 roles around, that is when the magic happens. That is when the Earth quits spinning, the wind stops blowing, the phone doesn't ring or otherwise signal the need for something else, and I have the GEM of my day....I rock two of the most beautiful babies God ever created and give them the sense of love and security they need and deserve. So whether it's with your kids, your nieces or nephew, your spouse or your friend...find a way to make a GEM and daily part of your life...it's revolutionary. xoxo Mel Two candid shots of our sweet little nuggets and a shot of sunset facing west up our street!