Being Present With Our Children

I recently spent some time with a friend and the issue of "being present" came up.  We talked of how we sometimes work so hard to make sure that everything is perfect or that no one is feeling badly or whatever the distraction is, we sometimes forget to just be in the moment with our little ones.  I literally blinked, and the my daughter's 8-year-old birthday week is gone - just like that!  We had been planning her celebration for weeks and I remember telling her, "Enjoy every minute because it's going to go by SO fast!"  I was also talking to myself.

What are ways that we are not present with our children?

• Texting while they're talking to us.
• Not looking at them - into their eyes and souls - when they're baring theirs to us.
• Letting our minds wander about what we could be doing instead of watching them play.
• Cleaning up everything in the house that we can possibly think of instead of just being with them - like they constantly ask us to do.  And what do we say, "In just a minute...right after I do this thing...."

What message do these send to our children?

• You're not as important to me as I say you are.
• My friends, cell phone, cleaning responsibilities, etc. are the priority...you can wait.

I am guilty of doing all these things - putting more energy into distractions, than into the very beings I was part of creating.  I will always have a million things to do, that's just the nature of life.  But why not make playing and being present (both mentally and physically) the "rule" and not just the occasional "exception?"