Have You Touched Your Children Tonight?

Lafayette lost two babies this week. I did not know these children or their families, but they were connected to my mom tribe in some way and have made it into my heart and it is absolutely broken. This started the conversation of loving and cherishing every last minute we have with our babies because we are never guaranteed more.

It is hard to cherish every moment

When we are living our life, it is difficult (at least it is for me) to cherish every moment with our little ones. I do not want to have reminders such as this to make me stop and hug my babies. I want to do nothing but hold them super tight; I don’t want to care about anything else. I don’t want to care that they are loud at inappropriate times, that they make a mess out of everything they touch, that they still wake up in the middle of the night, that they only want to wear the clothes they pick out, and that they will not eat any of the food that I cook. Why do I let these small things bother me?

Touching your children

Because I struggle to slow myself enough to take it all in during the day, I cannot go to sleep at night without “touching” my children. My husband asks me every night when I get in bed, “have you touched the kids?” This started when my daughter was born and has turned into my nightly routine. Once the kids are asleep, I go in their room and sit on their bed and just stare. I straighten them up in bed, straighten their jammies, and move their hair out of their faces. Mostly so I can study every square inch of their beautiful faces.

Sometimes I get tears in my eyes, but these are tears of love and joy. I want their faces to be the last thing I see before I go to sleep, because the question is always “What if this is the last time I get to do this?” There is nothing more soothing or beautiful in this world than a peaceful, sleeping child. This is when I pray for them, ask for forgiveness for being a rotten mom during the day, and of course, vow to do a better job the next day.

So if you struggle like me to soak it all up during the hustle and bustle of your day, I encourage you to touch your children tonight before you go to sleep. This is one thing you will never regret.

Lauren James
Lauren is a native New Orleanian that was transplanted to Lafayette in 2008 by her husband of 11 years, Daniel. She has a B.S.N. from Louisiana State University – School of Nursing and a M.S.N. from the University of South Alabama. Her “paying gig” is as a Nurse Practitioner with a focus in Quality/Infection Prevention at a local hospital. Her other full-time gig is as keeper of her home and mom to William 7, Mary Kathryn 6, and Benjamine 2. Most of her days at home are spent picking up toys and socks off the floor so the family Bernese Mountain Dog, Tipper, does not demolish them. When she has a spare moment, she enjoys reading crime novels, playing board game with her kids, cooking and baking foods that are not on her diet, and finding any reason to celebrate by drinking her beloved champagne. To burn off a few calories and any leftover energy, the family enjoys walking or riding bikes on the shaded boulevard on which they live. Lauren has fallen in love with the people and city of Lafayette and is very proud to raise her family here and to now call it home.

1 COMMENT

  1. Lauren this post was so on point! I do the same thing frequently. I pray and bed for forgiveness for the day. The other day I went to bed with tears in my eyes and my husband said “You are a good mom!” I pray that my babies think the same thing! I went to the Primeaux rosary last night. On the 5th decade, I started to cry as I looked up and saw Leo’s picture. I thought to myself “all that I complained about today is nothing compared to what Britany is experiencing. She had Leo in her Womb longer than she had him in the outside world”. My heart aches for those two families and I pray that I take more time to soak in my littles!

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