Motherhood Quote #3

"What can you do, as a young mother, to reduce the pressure and enjoy your family more?

"First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments.

"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: 'The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. … I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less' (Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).

"Second, don’t overschedule yourselves or your children...

"Third...Pick one or two things that you would like to learn or do that will enrich your life, and make time for them... And don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet.

"Fourth, pray, study, and teach the gospel. Pray deeply about your children and about your role as a mother."

M. Russell Ballard, “Daughters of God,” Ensign, May 2008, 108–10