Thursday, January 19, 2012

I'm sure you've seen this making the rounds

but just in case... Here's the link to the whole post about not Carpe-ing the Diem, and below is the part that I found myself first nodding in agreement, then wanting to go find a toddler and sniff her head...

There are two different types of time. Chronos time is what we live in. It's regular time, it's one minute at a time, it's staring down the clock till bedtime time, it's ten excruciating minutes in the Target line time, it's four screaming minutes in time out time, it's two hours till daddy gets home time. Chronos is the hard, slow passing time we parents often live in.


Then there's Kairos time. Kairos is God's time. It's time outside of time. It's metaphysical time. It's those magical moments in which time stands still. I have a few of those moments each day. And I cherish them.

Like when I actually stop what I'm doing and really look at Tish. I notice how perfectly smooth and brownish her skin is. I notice the perfect curves of her teeny elf mouth and her asianish brown eyes, and I breathe in her soft Tishy smell. In these moments, I see that her mouth is moving but I can't hear her because all I can think is -- This is the first time I've really seen Tish all day, and my God -- she is so beautiful. Kairos.

Like when I'm stuck in chronos time in the grocery line and I'm haggard and annoyed and angry at the slow check-out clerk. And then I look at my cart and I'm transported out of chronos. And suddenly I notice the piles and piles of healthy food I'll feed my children to grow their bodies and minds and I remember that most of the world's mamas would kill for this opportunity. This chance to stand in a grocery line with enough money to pay. And I just stare at my cart. At the abundance. The bounty. Thank you, God. Kairos.

5 comments:

Louise said...

I don't keep up with all the rounds, so I hadn't seen it (and probably wouldn't have gotten to reading it) and but thank you for the excerpt. Very true.

MooreMama said...

Thank you! Did you read the whole article? It seems like every person that I've seen link it excerpts a different paragraph, so it's interesting to see who gets smacked by what. :)

mz said...

I hadn't seen this either, but it all resonated and is very true for me.

MooreMama said...

I was actually thinking of you when I read it, M.
I feel a little like the fog is lifting... how is it going there?

mz said...

It's a little better, now that DH is home (read: laid off). This is the first year I've been grateful for a layoff. Dad working nights and sleeping days in another house does not s sane mama make!