Crickets

So I was just sitting here on the computer when my daughter comes running in to me screaming, "Mama! Mama! Do you hear that?! Do you hear that?!" Of course I can't hear anything but her screeching little voice but I just stop what I am doing and ask "Hear what?" My heart smiles as she says so excitedly, just like a 3 year old would, "CRICKETS!!!" In all actuality it sounds more like "CWICKETS" But I love how she says it and I know what she means. We as adults hear the crickets all night long during the summer but have you ever stopped to really listen to them. They are so beautiful. Its one of the most unique sounds that I have ever heard in the longest of times. So there I was, sitting with my little girl in my lap on the front porch just listening to the crickets and her little giggles, and realizing how much Im letting this life pass me by. I swear it was just yesterday that I was pregnant with Leyna and so terrified to be a mother. Now that little being that was inside me is this perfect 3 year old little girl and she even has an equally perfect 1 year old brother. What happened to the last 4 years of my life? So much has changed, some for the better and some for the worst but it all equals to what I am and who I am today and Im pretty sure I wouldn't change one second if ever given the chance. I have taken so much of it for granted and now I struggle on a day to day basis just to get by in every way possible, I thank God for all the blessings that I do have. Im so thankful that my daughter still has the innocence to be truely grateful for the "noise" of the crickets. Life is sometimes crazy, chaotic, unperfect and stressful. But I can look at my life and see my 2 beautiful children and know that I love mine in all of its trials and tribulations. I love that I have the sight to see my beautiful children grow and learn each day. I love that I have the hearing to listen to the crickets and the "Mama"s that come from children every day. I love that I get to feel the softness of my children's skin and the warmth of their kisses every day. I love that I get to smell the smell of baby lotion and baby soap knowing that means my kids are around me. I love that I get to taste all the concoctions that my daughter makes for me now matter how disgusting they may be. I am truely thankful for my children. In every aspect of their lives. I would kill for those two in the blink of an eye without even thinking about it. I would do anything and everything for them. I feel true and passionate love in my heart when I look at them. Nothing can ever compare to the love that a mother has for her children. Nothing. And you can quote me on that. I haven't been perfect but I promise to my children from this day forward that I will put them first and live my life for them. So to my children (and I say it with tears in my eyes and the warmest heart) "I love you two. More than you will ever know."
My point to all of you who read this, they say take time to stop and smell the roses, but my advice is to take time to stop and listen to the crickets. For everytime I listen, I hear the innocence and compassion in my children's hearts.