Thursday, August 16, 2012

Moments

Sunday morning we woke up without power.  No coffee.  I was struggling.

In need of caffeine and food, I took the ladies out for breakfast.  The three of us are out and about often, but rarely on an adventure where we are having fun.  I’m usually hauling them around on errands.  Even going to the library to stock up on books seems like another errand.  Another chore on the to-do list.

We went to a restaurant that we had never been to before.  We ate blueberry pancakes.  I was stuffed.

I wanted to take a walk around, get rid of some of that uncomfortable feeling of eating too much, but I decided to let go of any agenda. 

I let the girls decide.  They wanted to walk around for a bit.  “See the shops,” is what they told me.  Sounds so grown up.  Not sure where they got that particular phrase.  I’m not a shopper.

We were out so early that the shops were closed, so we headed down to the river. 

On the way, Lucy said, “I like this.” 

“What do you like?” I asked her.

“I like this…right now.”  Once again this child blew me away with her wisdom.  Just taking in the moment.

It’s really about moments, isn’t it?  And learning to appreciate those moments. 


Our lives are a string of moments in between the to-dos.  You know the to-dos…working, tending to children, cleaning, paying bills, etc.

Of course, I’m also learning to appreciate the to-dos as well.  Appreciating the to-dos takes a bit more work though.

I have thought about Lucy’s phrase all week.  Trying it out on different activities.  I was on a run on Tuesday night and thought, do I like this…right now?  I didn’t.  I had side cramps as soon as I hit the first block of a four mile run.  Sister Runner wasn’t incredibly motivating that night.  But I was grateful.  Grateful that I was able to run.  Looking for gratitude in the to-do of fitness.  Maybe during my next run, I will think, “I like this…right now.”

I like it when a phrase sticks with me and helps me stay focused.  I think I’m going to keep testing this one out.  Looking for the moments when I think, “I like this…right now.”

5 comments:

  1. Wisdom from the mouth of babes...

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  2. When I was out running today I kept thinking about is this fun in the moment. Some moments were fun others were necessary. I did notice things along the way as to not be out and really enjoy the run. It rain for about 1/2 hour during the first part of my run so there were some puddles on the path. I did notice one in that reminded me of butternut squash!! I also stopped after mile 9 because I was on an overpass noticing an ambulance with its lights and siren going. I wanted to see what the cars would do because there were 3 lanes of traffic. It was nice to just stop and not worry about time or pace. It also helped that I forgot my watch.
    I have to tell you on these runs I really enjoy the moments when I stop for water. I always feel better after. I wish you had some water fountains by you.
    So my running sister. Keep up the good work and hopefully you will have more good moments out there with nature on your runs.

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    1. Today I ran five miles. I still didn't enjoy that moment. When I passed a women wheeling an oxygen tank on the trail, I was grateful for my health. When I got home and was stretching, sweaty and gross and realized that I had a good run (even though I had side cramps)....that was a good moment. :)

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