Monday, November 26, 2012

the moments in-between...


The moments in-between...

I love big celebrations, the grand gestures, the major holidays, birthdays, and mark-your-calendar-events …the long awaited trips (the kind that come with insurance!) the epic parties, and all things Spanx-worthy…

But lately I’ve been trying to focus more on the moments in between…

The moments that can bring just as much gratification and simple joy to my day if I just pay attention .

The ordinary moments that make up our extraordinary lives…
Moments like:
Listening to the boys bicker and tease each other while playing side-by-side on their own computers, knowing they were enjoying  the familiar routine,

the beauty of a winter sunset over the water…

the less familiar beauty of a sunrise over the water…and the patience of my kids when I pull over to take a picture.

doing yet another load of laundry, finding a note written from my oldest to my youngest son in honor of his first varsity football game.  After bawling like a baby for 3 minutes I hear myself say…"I must be doing something right?!” (or maybe I heard…"see, you haven’t totally screwed them up!"...)

laughing out loud by myself in the car after hearing a song that just an hour ago had my sweet friend and me in tears while kickboxing…(might have been actual tears of pain now that I think of it…)

enjoying the first cup of homemade hot chocolate of the winter season, from my mom’s old recipe, appreciating the sight of her handwriting,

asking my daughter to download a new song for me that I liked, then later hearing her sing it, realizing she knew all words because she must like it, too!

the simple joy of having warm feet at night when my husband is not traveling…(not sure if my cold feet would be on his “special moments list”…)
and of course, the most obvious...

ALL FIVE OF US SITTING DOWN TO EAT TOGETHER…

 
I  will add that my last few days were spent relaxing at our house on the beach.  It is a place without schedules, homework, carpools, and with a killer view. Obviously the environment makes it much easier to notice the small lovelies of the day while reading a book, listening to the waves and feeling the warm sunshine on your face.  The trick, you see, is to find beauty in the everyday of our lives even while we are in carpool, or the grocery store YET AGAIN, while knee-deep in folding clothes,or wiping up another mess the dog left! 

In my effort to see beauty between the moments I channel Ferris Bueller.  (no, I don't play hooky and fake sick all day...but only because I am not that talented with recording my voice and wiring the doorbell...)

In the words of that wise old sage Ferris Bueller:

“Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”

 
What are your  favorite "in-between moments"?



 

2 comments:

  1. I love it Leslie and so true!! I really do my best to practice this same principal of enjoying every moment as intently as possible. You are a beautiful, wonderful and truly amazing woman!!...:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Les -- beautifully written!! (sniff, sniff) My favorite in-between moments are discussing politics around the table with my entire family, snuggling on the couch with sweet hubby - just because, the unique conversations had while driving to a UGA football game with my 19 year old son, inhaling the smell of my sweet DIL's hair and running my hand over the prickly crewcut of my red-headed 22 yr old son's hair. Life is so precious and meant to be enjoyed! Thx for sharing this my friend!

    ReplyDelete