"thirty minutes of wonderful"

Tamia- my something wonderful

This morning, I woke up later than usual and had very little time to spare. You see, I have to leave home "at bedtime" which is how Tamia refers to it since it's still dark when I am leaving my house. For this reason, I try to make as little noise as I can while I'm getting ready because I don't want to wake anyone up. I want them to sleep for as long as they can, but what I really want is to be left alone, to be able to get dressed and ready for the day without interruptions, without distractions. Well, this morning, Tamia woke up very soon after I did, and immediately I felt like my time had been encroached upon, and my little sweet five-year old was the intruder. Before she could even utter the word "Mommy", I found myself saying to her, "go back to sleep, Mommy has to go to work." I kept doing what I was doing; I just wanted to get out of the house without "having to do something" for anyone. I kept moving while she struggled to hug me, and then she went back to bed. I finished doing what I was doing, and exited the house. I thought, "Yes, I made it," but as I was walking to my car, Shelby from Steel Magnolias spoke to me, and as clear as day, I heard her say, "I'd rather have 30 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special." At that moment, it dawned on me that I had not been enjoying my "something wonderful", that instead, I had been allowing everything and everyone else, the real intruders, "the nothing special" to encroach on my time. I know what you're thinking, "Shelby isn't a real person, Tamara, you're just thinking too much." And really you might be right, she isn't real, but her situation, her circumstances are. So my message today is to take the time to enjoy your "something wonderful" because nothing outside of that is worth it.   

Steel Magnolias