Yearning to Be Present: 3 Obstacles to Avoid

The radio was blasting the latest Martina McBride song “I love you,” and my five-year-old daughter and I are belting out the words with so much emotion we can’t help but giggle when we miss a word. It was the summer of 1999 with lots of change and adjustments. We had a new baby, my parents had just left the country for a mission, and my oldest daughter was getting ready to start kindergarten. We were learning how to find balance again.

In those moments of pure bliss as my daughter and I connected with a song we both loved, I was present in her life. She is now an adult and helped bring new meaning to this connection with a recent text message:

Mom, I was just listening to Pandora when the song “I Love You” by Martina McBride came on. I started remembering all the times we would rock out in the car together when I was little.

On my birthday you started playing the song during my party. I remember looking up all excited and making eye contact with you. For some reason I just felt so much love from you, it was one time I knew you loved me. It made me happy to remember and thought I would share.”

Texts like this just make my day!

As I’ve thought about these memories, I’ve contemplated what made them have such a strong association for my daughter. The times when we…