The tooth and nothing but the tooth....

I just got back from a dental appointment with my youngest.  According to the dentist she has "perfect teeth"!  No cavities, brushing like she should, and two loose teeth.  I am thrilled to say the least.  We were in the office for over an hour, then had to run to the bank, get a hamburger on the fly, and rush back to school so that she wouldn't miss her first student counsil meeting of the year.  As I was rushing about I started thinking of the things I probably should be doing; like finishing the wash that built up over the weekend, finish my sewing so that I can get my order in on time, pay my bills since payday was Friday.  And then when my daughter said, "Thanks for taking me out today Mom.  I like it when we're together," I thought again.  I shouldn't be thinking of everything else when I am with my kids.  So I had to wait in the waiting room for a while.  I was waiting with my daughter snuggled next to me, quietly reading a magazine.  And as we went to the bank, we talked about school and what she would be doing this afternoon.  Then we ate together in the car, laughing about stuffing our faces so she could get back to class on time.  And finally, she wanted me to walk all the way to her classroom with her, so she could kiss me goodbye.  What load of wash or bill is more important than that?  I will have plenty of time for mundane tasks when my kids are older and don't need me as much.  These are the times that we look back on and wonder when they grew up so fast.  They grew up at the doctor's office, the dental appointments, the sports practices we sped to at the last minute.  We were with them, but maybe we were cursing the long wait, or trying to pass the slowpoke in front of us on the way to practice.  We have to learn to look beyond all of that, and enjoy the time we spend with our kids....vacationing at Disney World or waiting at the dentist....it's all good to me.