Looking Ahead

Today was transition day ~ a half day of school, and getting the house ready for more school (read that: cleaning and tidying). It's been a little bumpy, but that's what transition days are for, right?

Tomorrow we will jump in with "everything."

I did not ONCE think about or do any prep work for school during our two week break, and if I had been tempted to do so I would have resisted. It was WONDERFUL for me to have a true mental break from all things school.

I enjoyed my family immensely, spent hours playing board games, reading, watching movies and football (!!!) on our new TV, and sleeping in. And in it all, trying to be truly in the moment. I have lived long enough to know that the days and the stages fly by, and the only thing I can do to combat the passage of time is to fully embrace each moment and be all there. I read this recently on A Holy Experience and it resonated with me so much:

“Time is a relentless river and it rages on, respecter of no one.

And the only way to slow time is this: Enter fully into the current moment and the stream of time slows — slows — with the weight of a soul’s full attention.

We slow the torrent by being all here.

Life at its fullest is this sensitive, detonating sphere, and it can be carried only in the hands of the unhurried and reverential—a bubble held in awe.”

(fyi, this is a quote from Ann Voskamp's new book which is due out this month, called One Thousand Gifts: a dare to live fully right where you are. It's sure to be good! Look for it!)

I like goals, and I typically make some every new year. But this year I'm keeping it simple, and I just want to..

be all here.

When a young child says, "look mommy" I want to really see.

When an older child is talking to me, I want to really hear.

When my husband wants me to sit with him and watch an episode of Smallville, I want to stop multi tasking and really enjoy my husband's presence.

When a friend calls, I want to fully engage.

I want to be all here, and live each moment to its fullest. Even the small, mundane moments. Especially the small, mundane moments. Because life has a lot more of those than the other kind!

"Lord, help me to appreciate each moment because You inhabit it. Help me this year to be fully present in the moments that string together and make up life. I love you. Amen."