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Learning to appreciate the ‘slow’
By Siobhan Maas
I wrote this poem in the fall of 2022 when my youngest child had just started Kindergarten. Working part-time meant that many of my daytime hours were spent alone, and after having children around me for the past ten years, I was in yet another transition of figuring out who I was.
Even now, almost two years later, when I find myself overwhelmed with all the projects I have on the go, I read this piece to put my life into instant perspective. Every day, my children grow older, getting closer to the time when they will spread their wings.
As a parent, we only have so many days to instill our beliefs, our values, and our love for the people and world around us in our children. Make them count.
Look your children in the eye, let them know how much they mean to you, and immerse yourself in their play. Connect with them because the world is big and alluring and your children should know you will be there for them when their curiosity gets them into tough situations. Let them know they are more important than a phone call, a text, or an email.
Slow down so you can enjoy the people your children are becoming, that you helped create and shape, that you will support in this ever-changing world.
Enjoy.
Slow
Here and there, my tasks, they call.
Is it possible to finish them all?
Making them more important,
Is an easy thing to do,
Now that the children are growing and grew.
To cook and work is easier than play.
I must go! Right now,
There isn’t time to stay.
No.
I must slow.
And look.
Perhaps read my children a book.
Appreciate the sky.
Get a twinkle in my eye.
Explore a little.
Take time.
Enjoy what is mine.
This time.
The day, the hour.
Every second.
Be. Be here.
Breathe the air.
Hug my children.
And love!
Love my family, my friends, the Earth.
Feel the soil beneath my toe;
It’s grit and grim before I go.
I must slow.
I must slow;
To catch the moment,
The kisses sent
With a wave of their hand.
Before they scatter across the land.
Soon my children will move away,
To find their own way
In this great, vast world.
And I will wish.
I will wish that time had frozen.
That I could bring these seconds back.
These hours, these days.
When together, we read our books.
Gave each other knowing looks.
We would smile,
Play for a while.
The smell of cookies in the air.
Playing with my daughter’s hair.
Eat a snack.
Or, watch the clouds while on our back.
Off to school with the rising of the sun
A day of socializing and fun,
Their faces smiling bright.
I thought these days were infinite.
My four still return to me each afternoon;
Sometimes it seems a bit too soon.
Enjoying the closeness of family.
Knowing without having to say a word.
Content without the need to be heard.
Just being.
Together.
Slow.
These days of love, they are not over.
They have just changed a bit;
There’s certainly no stopping it.
As we become busy with our sports
Sometimes, I feel out of sorts.
Driving there and eating fast,
Their energy building; mine, not meant to last.
Hockey, gymnastics and language class,
The passage of time, a sort of trespass.
Moving together with speed and haste,
Trying to get everything done,
Not letting our time on Earth go to waste.
Celebrating the goals, the victories, the failures;
Together.
These are what will remain with us forever.
Remembering to sit on the floor with the kids as they play
Taking the time to talk and listen and stay.
Seeing the world through their creative mind,
Letting my inner child unwind.
Many days I leave the dishes dirty, the floor unswept,
The laundry unfolded, the bed unkept.
I must slow.
Because…
They will remember the board game nights,
The twinkling of the fairy lights,
Our evening stories read aloud,
Their art on the fridge; so proud.
The crazy silliness, their bellies sore from laughter;
Memories to fill them with love,
After.
After they leave me in my empty nest,
Memories of childhood solid in their chest.
Me, their proud mother,
Alone at last!
No quabbles, no fights, no whining or tears,
Basking in the quietness;
Bliss to my ears!
Yet hating the solitude,
Always awaiting their return.
I must learn.
I must learn to slow.
To feel the emotions of this life.
Learn to live without strife.
To embrace each child to my breast
Appreciate the journey and all the rest.
To be present for each of these moments
That make up my home.
Get off the damn phone.
I must kiss their cheeks.
I must breathe their scent.
I must hug them close.
I must slow.
*******
Siobhan Maas resides on a small farm in central Canada, where she raises four children, a flock of laying hens, and the occasional goat, sheep, or cow. With degrees in Agroecology and Soil Science, she cherishes connection with the Earth but also forming community for women. She developed and led a mentorship program at the University of Manitoba for five years, empowering women in agriculture.
Siobhan currently mentors youth and newcomers as a driving instructor. Siobhan’s commitment to self-growth and transformation led her to the S.W.A.T. Institute in the fall of 2023, where she is currently a student.
Through True Nature Empowerment Coaching, Siobhan offers guidance to women of all ages, often in the form of transformational writing prompts, encouraging them to connect with their natural wisdom and be a steward of their heart. Siobhan soon hopes to provide weekly online writing workshops to guide women through their own self-discovery. She can be reached at my.true.nature.coaching@gmail.com.
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