One Day At A Time : Slow As A Snail

The simple pleasures of life are waiting to be noticed. Are you and your child rushing too fast? This post has some simple wisdom!

The simple pleasures of life are waiting to be noticed. Are you and your child rushing too fast? This post has some simple wisdom!

Whether she is a working woman or a housewife working in her home; a mother’s aim is to always keep things in order, and to keep things moving. The orders of the husband, the demands of the children, and the requirements of daily life keep her on her toes.

I see myself running as soon as I wake up in the morning – to set up things for my family before they rise. The day continues pretty much on a spin and I often hear myself saying  “Hurry up, walk fast. Hurry up! We are getting late!” Whether it is to comb my kid’s hair, dress him up, pack the tiffin, or to do many of the little tasks that need to be done.

Hurry, hurry, hurry. Fast, fast, do it fast!

But today, I slowed down. Not because there were fewer things to be done or because it was a holiday. I slowed down because my 5 year old told me to.

“Mummy, you have to do it slowly; slow like a snail.” I thought I didn’t hear it right the first time, and asked him again. He repeated it : “Slow as a Snail.”

Then he clarified – every time, I rush him, he falters, and I grumble and yell. Then I rush some more.

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And it got me thinking.

Where is the fun and enjoyment of doing all the simple things? Why is it a race, who are we trying to win against? When are we going to just enjoy the journey? As I heard him, I stopped and checked myself; is this how my child sees me? A harassed lady hurrying with everything she does, just trying to complete the numerous things of the day. Rushing her kid and family… and teaching him to rush through life?

This is not the message I want to send across, I want him to enjoy his life; to stop and smell the roses, and if he misses his bus, so be it.

I am sure our drive to school will yield another stimulating conversation. So now we go slowly, slow as a tortoise, but not a snail!

This post was first published here.

Pic credit: Rupert Ganzer (Used under a CC license)

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About the Author

indywrites

Inderpreet writes for her love of writing, edits manuscripts and reads endlessly. An authors' editor with a decade of experience, she provides manuscript critique, linguistic editing, substantive editing and developmental editing for fiction and nonfiction. read more...

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