Swimming Reflections

Goggles on, goggles off.  Close the life jacket, now open it – we don’t need it.  Uh oh, potty!  Baby’s cold, take her out of the water and wrap her up.  “Mama!  Look at me!”

Ahhh, a nice relaxing trip to the pool.

Did you ever notice how many bags we moms carry at one time?  Aside from jackets, strollers and snacks, that is.  How many arms and eyes do we actually have at our disposal?  How do we really manage so many things all at once?

What will we do when the craziness of caring for our little ones ends?  Is there silence?  What will we do in the silence?  Lengthen our phone calls from grown children living far away?  Count the days until our next visit?  I see neighbors aging who never married.  Some who have no children.  Others whose parents have passed and who have no siblings to speak of.  How do they carry on in their days in all the silence?  Does anyone check on them?  Will it be this way for me as time goes on?

Back to the locker rooms, swim time is over. Grab the towels, shampoo their hair, get them warm and ready to brave the cold and the trip home.

Alhamdulilah for little noses that need wiping and diapers that need changing.  Soon the bags will get lighter and the calls for attention will get fewer.  What will come in place of those looks from needy little eyes?  Time will tell.

As Allah’s plan for each of us reveals itself, may we all remember the purity of our small children and how they once filled our days with so much sweetness.

Susan Assaf

Susan lives in Maryland and is a homeschooling mom of 4 growing munchkins.