Today, I will be… silent

I head up to my eleven-year-old’s room to see if he’s ready for school.

His bed isn’t made.

His clothes aren’t picked up off the floor.

He hasn’t had breakfast.

And he’s still in his pajamas.

We have less than twenty minutes until we have to leave the house.

I sigh.

I’m about to yell, You need to hurry up or we’ll be late!…

The words are on the tip of my tongue.

But then he looks up at me.  “Watch, Mom,” he says. He’s sitting in the corner of his room, playing his guitar.

It’s hard to keep quiet and not hurry him along, but somehow I do.

He plays the new song he learned last week.

I can tell by his smile that he’s mastered it.

The sound is beautiful.

He finishes–proud–then sets his guitar in the corner and heads to his bathroom to get ready.

The next twenty minutes are hectic,

and we leave the house a little late.

But my son goes to school with music in his heart,

instead of echoes of my frustration.

And I am reminded of the importance of picking my battles,

and the value in

sometimes

just being silent.

 

“Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”  ~Berthold Auerbach

Comments

  1. Your son reminds me so much of mine when he was younger and learning to play guitar.  I had those days where I would get upset, ask him to put that thing down and get to his work.  But now, at 17, he’s leading worship in the House of Prayer. Picking our battles is so important!

    1. Thanks, Barbie! Up until the guitar, my son hated to be on stage or perform. But over Christmas, we did several performances at convalescent homes and he just glowed. He is so at home behind that instrument!

  2. Oh boy! I definitely needed to hear this. I have a 7 yr old who is perpetually distracted and it becomes waaaay too easy for me to yell. Thanks Genny!!

  3. That was beautiful, and made me tear up. 
    Lately, I’ve been trying so hard to just stop and enjoy the moment and to actually listen to what my children have to say.  I’m always in a rush, and that’s not fair to them or to me.  Life’s too short and I want to enjoy it!

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