The Moments That Take My Breath Away

I have a tile in my kitchen window that reads:

Life's not the breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away.

Some people spend their free time looking for and trying new extreme activities like skydiving, bungee jumping or rock climbing.  They crave that rush of adrenalin that literally takes your breath away.  I admit, I love a good roller coaster with lots of crazy loops and barrel rolls and hills that make your heart race.   But I also find moments in my everyday life that take my breath away. 

Marriage to my sweetheart and best friend in the world is breathtaking.  I love him dearly.  I have spent more time in this mortal life WITH him than I have spent WITHOUT him, and look forward to eternity with him.  My children are also a source of many breathtaking moments.  I love to watch the milestones in their lives….their first smiles, their first steps, first lost teeth, first time tying a shoe, learning to read, baptism, priesthood ordinations, passing the sacrament for the first time, first babysitting job, drivers licence, first date, mission service, entering college….I could go on for a long time listing all the moments, some common, and some once in a lifetime, that I have enjoyed with my children and husband.

For me, taking the time to enjoy the very smallest moments of a very regular day, turns that very regular day into something special.  Today David spent much of his time working his little heart out trying to roll over.  Until this afternoon, I'd really not seen him put a lot of effort into that at all.  I spent time on the rug with him just watching as he exerted monumental effort, tongue hanging out he was working so hard, for what seemed like quite a long time for a baby his age.  Finally his efforts bore fruit, he was able to get that last troublesome arm out of the way, and he flipped from back to tummy.  The look on his face was priceless - utter surprise and pleasure all at the same time.  In the next few minutes he flipped back onto his back, and then over again.  I caught a picture of one of his rolls, just before he flipped over.

I don't need to ride in a hot air balloon to experience breathtaking moments in my life.  Being a wife and mother provide me with those moments each day if I take the time to notice them.