I'll skip the snow angels and ice skating. Instead, I'd love to walk on the beach, then go explore a new area of town and find a killer place to eat...followed by cookie dough and snuggles. Sounds like a perfect day, a day of sunshine and nature, a day of new tastes and places and most importantly-- time to talk and connect. I know the things that fill me up and I try to make time to do them. I know I need margin in my life-- empty moments that can be filled will soul-filling words or soul-filling silence.
Yesterday I went to the beach- twice. Once with the kiddos in the morning because they were going crazy inside. My girl danced in the breeze, my bitty boy chased his Spiderman ball, and my big boy laid his head in my lap. We closed our eyes and felt the warmth of the sun and I turned on some music. We had space for real conversation-- not the conversation that centers around school and schedules and chores-- but the conversation that circles around dreams. These are the kinds of moments where he feels safe to ask anything. Our conversation can meander to sharing some truth that I know he will hold onto longer than any other thing I try and shove into his little mind. It was joyful, but not overly peaceful or relaxing, so later, I went back by myself.
When I get a few hours off it is easy for me to be like Elf, and plan it all out with all of the things I want to do. But, this time, I just drove. I sat silently, thinking, listening. I found a bench by a different beach, and I wrote a little and I read a little and my quiet time was better than any gift I could have received under the tree at Christmas. As I get older, I crave these moments alone and they become a little gift that I give myself. The gift of quiet. The gift of unhurried time. Because truly significant things happen in these moments- I remember Truth. I decide to not give a f*#& about anything that is weighing me down. And I feel loads lighter when I return home.
So, what's on your agenda? How do you create space to get back to what matters most. How do you un-hurry your life so you can do the things that really fill you up?