Being Present

After reading this post, by Kelle Hampton, I got to thinking... If you didn't click on the link and read the post, 

Kelle says, "there is three-shots-of-espresso-in-a-styrofoam-cup kind of excitement and there is tea-with-milk-and-honey-served-in-elegant-china kind of excitement." She says, we need to remain calm and present for our families.

Moral:

The upcoming months offer an opportunity for crazy-town excitement. The kind of excitement that is not productive. The kind that has your head spinning and your calendar full of "i-don't-know-what-the-heck-i-did-all-day-today" days.

We need to stay in control here people.

Stop and have a cup of fricken tea with milk and honey!!!

The biggest danger with these days are that they tempt us to stray away from living in the present moment. When we lose our grip on the present moment, we open our eyes and look around and it's January. Then its March, then it's summer...I don't know about you, but if I wake up and it's summer, I am going to be really upset that I missed out on so many crucial moments with Hazel and Matt. There is just too much at stake!

So, the question is HOW?

For me...it's a cup of steaming hot coffee.

Coffee for me is an experience. It's not to be rushed through. It's not meant to be had while multitasking (i.e. you are drinking your coffee with one hand while simultaneously zipping up one kids coat, grabbing the others lunch, and running out the door to get them to school on time) OR (while you are tying your tie, tucking in your shirt, rushing out the house late for work so that by the time you get to work you have to have another coffee because you barely remember having the first.)

For me it is meant to just sit and drink slowly. It should be so hot there is a threat of a burn as your top lip approaches the golden liquid that is creeping to the top of the mug. While you blow gently the very smell of the steam rising awakens every cell in your body. The smile that hits your face is almost inevitable, your eyes close. Pure Bliss.

I sit and observe my daughter. She is playing, imagining, learning and growing. Hazel is in the present moment always. I watch her and enjoy every minute. The minutes race past us so quickly, I don't want to miss crucial moments worrying about what chores need to be done, what gifts need to be bought, what food needs to be prepared or what decorations need to be put up. All this busy work will get done, everything always gets done somehow. Nobody shows up at Christmas with nothing in hand to give or food prepared. It ALWAYS gets done.

As the holidays approach, I will be enjoying several "cups of coffee." Watching, learning and growing, as Hazel does. She has taught me so much, I will be present for her.

I will be posting again on staying present and trying often to remind us all that "three-shots-of-espresso-in-a-styrofoam-cup kind of excitement," is not, mentally, where we want to be.

OK.....you got me.....

Sometimes, it's a steaming hot tea with whiskey and honey!!!!! This is my cure all for literally, anything that may plague you. This could be the Italian in me but, drink one of these before bed and I guarantee it will scare your stress or illness, or whatever away. Matt is the designated tea-maker in the house. He has it down to a science.

Seriously, try it!!!!