My days of spending long hours with littles are over. I will babysit my granddaughter on Monday, which will be lovely. But even as she grows I will not be her main caregiver.  The preschool where I used to teach has invited me back to do music once a week, which will absolutely make Wednesdays special. But those blasts, sweet as they are, are not the same thing as full time mothering. 

One of the things I remember, sitting on the sidelines at the playground, or chatting with other moms while our kids explored a stream, was being a steward. 

"Hold this!" he or she would task me as they rushed back into the fray. I would be left holding the bag, or the jacket, or the plastic car, or the rock. 

My parenting bell curve was ebbing just as cell phones came into popularity, but I wonder if such requests get in the way of moms checking their messages. Do their kids want to keep their attention on them, even as they are not reciprocating? 

"Watch me!" they cry. Never did a child offer the opposite. 

"I'll watch you!"

It is true that having my hands full makes obsessing over social media difficult if not impossible. Maybe I should routinely cart around a few toys. 

One of the benefits I find from praying for others is that it makes less room in my attention for criticizing them. The two do not fit in the small space that is my heart. When God days "Hold this person!" I must of necessity let go of any tendency to judge them.