The older Joanna Gaines becomes, the more she learns to relish life’s little moments. Take this funny few minutes she recently shared with her son, Crew, for example.
The mom of five (Drake, 17, Ella, 16, Duke, 14, Emmie, 12, and Crew, 4) told People, “I had just gotten ready for work and he said, ‘Mom, I need you to get on your stomach, on the ground and look at what these ants are carrying.’ I was like, ‘Baby, I can see them from up here!’”
But then she threw caution to the wind and decided to humor her little boy’s request, lying down next to him. “I’m flat on my belly and the whole time I’m thinking, ‘I’m too old for this,’” she said. “Then Chip pulls up with the kids and starts honking like, ‘Are you okay!?’ They all thought I fell — because Mom doesn’t normally do that.”
It was a “simple and silly” thing, but that one small moment struck Gaines with a deep appreciation for the little things in life. “I’ve realized a lot of joy comes from unplanned moments. I’m glad I didn’t miss that one,” she said.
She reflected on her newfound focus on life’s subtle delights, explaining, “I was about to turn 44 and I realized, the last 10 years, a lot of it felt like a blur. It was fast, it was exciting, and there was so much to be grateful for, but there was something in me that just felt so tired. I wanted to go back and regain moments that I had missed along the way.”
And as beautiful as her first 44 years have been, she’s determined to make the next 44 even more joyful and fulfilling. She shared, “I’m 44 years old, and so say I have another 44 years to go. I want to live it lighter. I want to live more freely. Just be grounded in who I am, what I believe I’m here for.”
Gaines is truly in a season of reflection at this moment in her life, with her new memoir hitting shelves on November 8. The Stories We Tell invites readers into Gaines’ life story, touching on “the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly,” to her guide herself and others “to release the weights that hold us back so we may live and share our story in truth.” Grab your own copy on preorder today.
'The Stories We Tell' by Joanna Gaines
$22.39
Buy now
Before you go, check out these celebrity moms who welcomed their bundles of joy after 40.
Source: Read Full Article