Interruptions and Hospitality In Motherhood

When I think about showing hospitality, and being willing to be interrupted, I realized my kids are significant teachers in my life. They don’t move about hurried. They stop. They gaze in wonder. They linger. They take way too long at the dinner table.
But, then again, what are we actually rushing for anyway?
Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes we do have places to go and people to see.
But many times, we don't, yet I rush them anyway.

“They’re interrupting my schedule,” I think.
Until I consider what my schedule actually is.
It’s Thursday night, we have no plans. Bedtime isn’t for 2 more hours.
Why am I hurrying them?

That’s when I realized my problem with hurrying had reached a new low.
That what I justified as urgency in important matters had over time turned to hurry in all matters.

Now hear me on this - my kids like to stall when they don't like dinner, just like any other kid.
They get up and run around. They put their feet on the table and say “hey Mom, look my foot is a sock puppet” after I clearly told them we don't put our feet on the table. This isn’t about manners. I’m not advocating ignoring those things. Parents gotta parent.

I am advocating that we don’t rush through things.
I am advocating that we reconsider how we engage with people, whether family, co-workers, or otherwise.
I am advocating patience, slowness, and a willingness to linger longer.
Because in our hurried culture, we are losing the ability to do that.
And we find ourselves always looking forward,
And we no longer see what is right in front of us.
And this present moment is the only one we have.
I can’t live in the future.
I can't live in the past.
But I can live here.
Right now.
In this moment.
It’s truly all I..you..we really have.