Waiting to Pause

I haven't been able to stop since the final minutes of labor with my daughter almost eight years ago.  I remember telling her father, I just need a little break.  I thought if I rested for a minute, I could muster up the last of my strength and push her out of there.  But there wasn't time; she was already coming, and I had to keep pushing.
Looking back on it many times throughout the years, I thought it was funny how I wanted to take a break not realizing I was so close to the end.  When that tiny bundle of joy entered the world, I knew right away I would have continued working for hours for her.
And I have.  Because what seemed like a funny story has now become a metaphor for my life as a mother.  I would love to just pause for a minute, but there isn't time.  Her needs along with the rest of my family's still come, and I still have to keep pushing on.  And just like a diet, an exercise regime, the laundry cycle, reading my Bible, or keeping the house cleaned, if I pause for just a minute and get out of step, I find myself struggling to get back in time with the music.  That's not even taking into consideration the demands of my job.
Sometimes I wonder, what if while I'm waiting for a little break, I'm so close to the end of my work and don't realize it again.  Although the task at hand seems large, the thought of her growing up so soon is hard to take.  She has already lived nearly half of the life she will live in my home.  As exhausting as it all is right now, there will come a time when the labor is over, and I'll know I would have continued pushing for much longer.