There’s a moment that sneaks up on moms.
You’re wiping a counter, hunting for the missing shoe (again), reheating coffee you keep forgetting to drink, and then it hits you like a soft tap on the shoulder: your child’s voice sounds a little older. Their legs look a little longer. Their questions got deeper when you weren’t looking.
And your heart does that complicated motherhood thing, where gratitude and tenderness and exhaustion all sit at the same table.
We say it all the time:
“Time is flying.”
It is.
But here’s the thought I keep returning to, the one that feels both grounding and hopeful:
Time flies, but you are the pilot.
Not the calendar.
Not the clutter.
Not the noise and the needs.
You.
And I don’t mean “pilot” like you must be calm and put-together and always ahead of the day. I mean “pilot” in the real sense: someone steering through weather, turbulence, and loud passengers, making small course corrections that keep the flight headed somewhere good.
And that’s what a pilot does. Not control time, but choose direction.
A Better Question Than “How Do I Slow Down Time?”
Time flying isn’t the enemy.
The enemy is autopilot.
So instead of asking, “How do I slow down time?” try this:
How do I take the controls back for five minutes today?
Five minutes can change the texture of a whole day. Not because it fixes everything, but because it reminds you that you’re not powerless here.
Pilots don’t make one dramatic turn and call it a day. They make small course corrections constantly.
Motherhood works the same way.
Small Course Corrections That Actually Work in Real Life
Here are a few gentle, doable ways to pilot your motherhood back toward what matters, without making it heavy.
1) Pick One “Arrival Moment” Each Day
Not all day. Not every hour. Just one moment where you choose to arrive.
Examples:
- the first hug in the morning
- the car ride
- after-school reunion
- dinner
- bedtime
During that one moment, try a tiny ritual:
- put your phone down
- take one slow breath
- look at their face
- say (silently or out loud), I’m here.
That’s it. No performance. Just presence.
You don’t need more time. You need one intentional landing.
2) Start “Noticing Out Loud”
Kids don’t need constant entertainment. They need to be seen.
Try saying one noticing sentence a day:
- “I love hearing you laugh like that.”
- “You worked really hard on that.”
- “I like being with you.”
- “I’m proud of you.”
- “I’m glad I get to be your mom.”
This isn’t about being poetic. It’s about marking the moment, planting a small flag that says: This mattered.
And here’s the surprise: it doesn’t only change your child. It changes you. Your brain starts looking for what’s good because you’ve trained it to name it.
3) Make One Thing Easier on Purpose
Piloting isn’t only about cherishing the sweet. It’s also about reducing turbulence.
Ask yourself: What can be easier this week?
- repeat two dinners
- lower the standard for laundry
- simplify bedtime
- say no to one commitment
- stop doing one thing that exists only because you think you “should”
This is not laziness. This is wisdom.
Because you can’t savor a life you’re sprinting through.
Simplifying creates space. Space is where presence can live.
4) Replace “Capture It” With “Feel It”
So many of us reach for our phones because we’re afraid we’ll forget.
But sometimes the phone steals the very moment we’re trying to keep.
Try this once today: when something sweet happens, don’t document it first. Do this first:
- smile
- watch
- breathe
- let it land
If you want, write one sentence later in your notes app:
“Today you…”
“And I felt…”
That’s enough. Childhood doesn’t need a full scrapbook to be meaningful. It needs a mother who actually experienced it.
5) Build a Tiny Anchor Into Your Day
An anchor is a small habit that brings you back to yourself and your people.
Choose one:
- a 20-second hug
- a slow breath before you open the door at pickup
- a “high/low” question at bedtime
- a candle lit at dinner
- a short prayer while you fold laundry
Anchors don’t add time. They add meaning.
The Uplifting Truth You Might Need Today
You’re not behind.
Even if you’ve been overwhelmed, even if you’ve spent weeks (or years) in survival mode, even if you’ve been physically present but mentally scattered… you have not “missed it all.”
You’re still in it.
And here’s the hope-filled part about being the pilot:
You can take the controls back in an instant.
Not by changing your entire life.
By changing your next ten minutes.
Different action doesn’t have to be dramatic. It can be small and steady.
Small choices, repeated, become a new way of living.
Time will keep flying. It’s what it does.
But you don’t have to be dragged by it.
You can steer. You can choose pockets of presence. You can trade autopilot for intention, one small course correction at a time.
And one day, when you look back, you won’t only remember what you did.
You’ll remember how it felt to be there.
Because you were.
Because time flew, yes…
but you were the pilot. 🧡
