On these Sunday afternoons at home….
there won't always be the careless laughter
of our teenagers sprawled out in the living room goofing off…
But, there will always be dirty dishes.
There won't always be toddlers trotting in and out of sight flirting for our adoration...
But, there will always be floors to sweep.
There won't always be parents and grandparents to reminisce with and learn from...
But,there will always be garbage to take out.
There won't always be babies to be cuddled and cooed to…
But there will always be laundry.
Our families grow and change, we fall prey to the busyness of life...
the years disappear like water down a drain…soon our children will be grown...
starting their own busy lives and growing families.
They grow up, our parents and grandparents grow old...
sometimes death steals our loved ones far sooner than we'd ever thought.
And we will long to have those Sunday afternoons back to live over again...in hopes
to slow down, be there, instead of rushing through...
Oh how these precious family moments are so quickly fleeting.
So, put down the dish towel, the dirty dishes can wait.
“besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone.” (Lin Yutang)
Fully Zoetic 
So very, very true and full of wisdom. Going through these photo albums that my mother put so much time into so she could save memories for us all is so much a reminder that our time is so short here on this earth. We spend way too much time fretting like Martha did to Jesus when we should be basking at the feet of Jesus, soaking in his goodness and love. He gives us that goodness and love through so many things in this life. After all didn’t he say that He came so we could have life and have it more abundantly? I felt sorry for Martha for many years because after all someone has to be in the kitchen or no one was going to eat. Why didn’t Jesus understand that? When we leave this world will we be remembered for our cooking skills or our beautifully set table? I certainly hope I will leave something of more value than that to people I have spent my life loving and caring about. One of these photo album are filled with hundreds of pictures of our family gathered around the table, the beds, the floors etc seemingly doing nothing but eating. But there are so many more stories going on in these pictures. There are brothers, sisters, cousins, lots of babies, babies and more babies laughing and playing. There is lots of cummicating, hugging, touching, caring and just being together that all families need to do. I see these pictures and I realize how much I really miss all that. We can only hold these times in our memories now because so much has changed and so many in these pictures have left this world. So yes my wise daughter put down your dish rag, mop, vacumn and love your children, your husband, your friends and even your old parents. This is your real life, your so very abundant life that Jesus came to give you.
Thank you for that beautifully written comment! It brings back such wonderful pictures and memories of our family. One of the things most will always remember about Grandmother is that she loved her time with her family and dropped everything to make our gatherings fun and festive. She truly loved her time with her children and grandchildren, that’s for sure!