Life is Good

By Maria Bailey

I had one of those unexpected moments today. No, it wasn't one of those when everything goes wrong or you embarrass yourself by pulling a Tampon out of your purse instead of a pen. It was one of those moments when you know in your heart that life is great. It's an instance in time when the world seems to stop and a feeling of warmth fills your heart and your mind is overtaken by every pleasurable experience you've ever lived. You forget about the calls and e-mails that need to be answered, you have no regard for the bills that need to be paid and for just an instant you don't even care that you still haven't lost the extra ten pounds from your last pregnancy, which was five years ago. It's an awesome feeling and the best part is that it didn't even take the effort of foreplay.

My intuition tells me that I probably experience these moments more than I know. I just don't recognize them because I am busy packing lunchboxes or defrosting dinner or sewing Girl Scout patches on a uniform three minutes before it needs to be worn to school by my daughter. Stay with me on this analogy, but it's much like sharing intimate times with your husband. Your attention gets focuses elsewhere and suddenly you are too tired or preoccupied to give to anyone else. Then you're finally out of excuses, you give into your husband and afterwards you realize that you guys should do that more often because it was nice. It's the same way with moments of happiness. Once you stop long enough to experience them, you wonder why you don't do it more often.

Today, I stopped in the middle of a field. It wasn't just any field; it was a field filled with 500 excited school children and their supportive parents. The morning dew still clung to the ground and the Florida sun was promising a very warm day. The event was Sports Day, a day for which everyone prepares for weeks. To kick off the festivities, each class proudly marched, danced and paraded across the grass waving their flags and reciting cheers for their team. I felt proud of the performance of my three children. It's funny how a mother can pick out her offspring even in a crowd of 500 children with their hats turned backwards and painted faces. Even as the group clustered together to do the pledge of Alliance, I could spot my brood among all the small athletes.

Shortly after silence fell upon the field and each hat came off and hands fell upon the heart, my moment of satisfaction with life came. As a chorus of kindergarteners bellowed the words to "God Bless America," my thoughts drifted to the 24 Americans held in China and wondered if any of the children standing with me would one day find themselves in such a situation. I wondered what life holds for my children. I'm sure the mother of those men and women never expected to be tying yellow ribbons around the trees in their yard. I realized that as much as I do to prepare my children for life, there will always be some things that I have no control over. I tried to imagine how their mothers must feel right now. That's when I began to feel so fortunate to have my children safe and close to me at that exact moment. My sense of security had been forever tainted by the death of students at Columbine and Santana High Schools. I wouldn't allow myself to be grateful that my children were in a safe school. In my mind, I knew that would mean letting my guard down and pretending that we were somehow immune to the unexpected tragedies of others. I'm certain that the parents of Littleton thought their children were safe at school. Perhaps unconsciously, I think if I keep my guard up, somehow I can ensure my children's safety even while in the classroom. How sad, that I must think this way and worry about their safety at school. I felt appreciative that their lives had not been touched by violence and I said a quick prayer that their school would always be a safe place for them.

A prayer followed the children's display of patriotism. Right or wrong, prayer is a privilege I pay to have my children do in school. As the crowd recited the Our Father aloud, I thought about how much God had given me in my life. "Give us this day, our daily bread," echoed against the building. God had given me so much more than just my daily bread. I glanced across the field to where my husband stood at his post ready to judge the 50-yard dash, then I looked to my three children and in the warmth of the sun quietly said, "Life is good."

As I turned to head off to the office, I prayed that I'd remember this feeling throughout the day regardless of how many deadlines I had or tasks to complete. Find your moment and savor it!

Share your thoughts on our message board or email Maria.

Also see:
• Week Twenty-nine -- My nine year anniversary
• Week Twenty-Eight --Does birth order matter?
• Week Twenty-Seven -- Things we take for granted
• Week Twenty-Six -- My youngest turned two
• Week Twenty-Five -- Losing someone you love
• Week Twenty-Four -- Where's the romance in Valentine's Day?
• Week Twenty-Three -- The call I've been waiting for
• Week Twenty-Two -- Where did the weekend go?
• Week Twenty-One -- Business trip challenges
• Week Twenty -- Girl Scout cookie time
• Week Nineteen -- Thoughts on motherhood
• More diary entries

Maria Bailey is the CEO and founder of BlueSuitMom.com and a mother of four children under the age of seven.