My children recently tackled one of life's little milestones. 

Riding a bicycle.

I should clarify this, and say that Brooklyn and August are the ones who checked this off their list - Dorien and Wyeth have a ways to go yet.

I have no idea how old I was when I learned to ride a bike, and for awhile I thought Brooklyn and August might be teenagers before it clicked for them. Partly that was due to me and Kyle who found it difficult to carve out time designated to bike riding. And let me give Kyle his full due - the fact that our kids found their balance on two wheels is ENTIRELY because he worked with them. I watched from our balcony or an upstairs window while taking care of Wyeth. Chasing after a wobbling bike is not something you can do while holding an infant. Well, you probably can, but I wasn't up for it. 

You are fortunate to be able to witness those first moments of balance as August first, then Brooklyn, "got it." And not without a little blood, I might add.

Here are a few videos of the various phases and one awesome crash.




Please stop before you hit the car...

Ouch.

I have two quotes to share with you:

"Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand - and melting like a snowflake."

Francis Bacon, Sr.

The second quote springs from the first, and I found it on a blog just now. This post, in particular, if you're a "click to links" kind of person.

The blogger, Amy Hood, was making a point that life happens all the time. Not at some point in the future.  In my second quote for you today, she happens to be talking about knitting and time: 

"Knitting is practically made for mothers. It fits into the cracks of the day."

Her use of the phrase, "Cracks of the day", well, I hate to use the word "resonate", but it did. It resonated with me. (I hate to use it because it seems over-used). Anyway. 

I so often feel like my day is segmented so many different ways that getting things done happens in the cracks. In between or among other things. Knitting is a perfect example. I have two knitting projects in the works right now, and I carry them upstairs and down with me as I go because I never know when a moment will open up for me to grab the project and work a few rows. Maybe while a child is reading aloud. While math workbooks are being done. While I'm waiting for a kettle to boil. While I'm watching a football game with Kyle. While......the list is endless.

There are so many different ways to make life work as a mom. My way, and I have a feeling I'm not alone here, but my way is to fit the things that are important to me in the cracks. Quiet times fit into a brief napping window. A load of laundry thrown in or swapped out while I dash upstairs to change a diaper. A pile of laundry folded while August is entertaining Wyeth. A few pages of a book read while waiting for the kids to clean up their room. Daydream about a painting project while making a sandwich or waiting for the microwave to ding.  A run squeezed in when Kyle gets home from work and before I start dinner. A list made while the thoughts are handy and a pen and paper are nearby. A recipe pinned while nursing Wyeth. Finances organized and bills paid with a baby on my lap nursing and a toddler beside me sleeping. 

You can look at life as shattered and complicated and challenging with all its myriad of interruptions and demands and schedules. OR. You can look at it as ripe with opportunities amid all those cracks. 

I may not complete huge tasks in a day, but I can do a lot of little things that make me happy - whether it's contributing to a cleaner house, making progress on a knitting project, reading further in a book that interests me, making a quick batch of cookies or getting in a workout. These little things make life rich and full and beautiful. It does take initiative and a desire to make the most of every moment. And some days all I want to fit in may just be a nap. And so be it. Rest is just as important as the other stuff.

So, for all you out there searching for that elusive thing called time.....it's there. In the cracks of your day. Don't let a so-called "lack of time" keep you from anything. Cause as we both know, that's no excuse.