Little Moments

Yesterday was a hard Monday to get back to work and remote school. Our family had a full weekend: soccer games, birthday party, the beach {hard life, I know}, an anniversary celebration for my parents and we learned of an unexpected death. By the time Monday morning rolled around, we were not our best selves and we were not ready for the week, although thankfully our fridge was not empty. 😉

As the day continued, I needed to fill my own tank with fresh air, exercise and sunshine. As I wrapped up my work day, I texted our au pair and asked her to get our son ready for soccer practice and get our girls ready for an adventure. {I find kids more receptive to change of plans when you give them advance notice}. While I was getting ready for our adventure, our 2 year old ran into our room crying; she was having a hard time self-regulating. I scooped her up and carried her downstairs while asking her if she wanted to go on an adventure. “Yes…” she cried.

I walked outside and my neighbor’s daughter asked me, “you’re going on an adventure? Can you text my mom…?” Instead of texting her, I walked across the street holding my two year old while yelling to my other two girls to get ready for a bike ride. I invited our neighbor’s daughter to join and asked her mom if she wanted to come with.

I walked back across the street as my older girl came out of the garage with her rollerblades on. “Sweetie. Bike ride. No rollerblades.”

“But…” she begged.

“We’re going on a bike ride on the rail trail, the rollerblades won’t work,” I told her.

Hanging
Climbing & Hanging

We pulled the bikes out of the garage, grabbed the helmets, raised a few bikes seats, grabbed a water bottle and snacks and set out down the street, around the corner, past a playground, a school, onto a rail trail to another playground. There we stopped to swing, slide and climb. After the girls ran around, we had a snack, drank some water, admired the sunset and headed home. It was borderline frantic as we raced the setting sun {the sun won} and we pulled onto our street in the dark.

Slide
Sliding by herself

That evening, as we ate dinner, we asked the kids what the best part of their day was. Our middle daughter said the best part of her day was the bike ride and the hardest part of the day was her tired legs. Our older daughter concurred, the best part of her day was the bike ride.

These days, as remote school is hard and work from home days with interruptions, as you find yourself pulled in many directions, remember it’s life is about the little moments. It’s about an evening bike ride to the playground to spend time with your kids while they get their wiggles out. It’s about a quick phone call with a long-time friend. It’s about watching your baby spy a dog {doddie} on an evening walk. It’s about coaching your child’s sports team three times a week for a season. It’s about a last minute walk with a friend. It’s about conversations at the dinner table bringing your family together. Life is made up of little & big moments. While it’s easy to think the big moments are the memory makers, think about the little moments woven into your day to day. Little moments of family & friends supporting one another as they meander & sprint through their life.

What was a little moment in your life you will remember for a long time to come?

Family Time

Last week, I was invited out with girlfriends and I desperately wanted to go. It would be space for me to connect with friends, space for me to have fun, space for me away from my home office.

However, the same day I was invited out was the first day my husband didn’t have to work late AND we didn’t have a baseball commitment. We had the opportunity to have family dinner together. Slowly. Together.

I opted not to visit with friends and chose instead to visit with my family. Dinner was slow, almost too slow. We had good conversation however I was frustrated at how unfocused my kids were on finishing their dinner. The promise of dessert after was not enough to give them focus to finish. Finally, painstakingly, everyone was finished with dinner, dishes were cleared, leftovers were put away.

I made the announcement: “we are going on a family walk.” {It was already decided, by me. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.} The girls were thrilled, my youngest {have I told you she’s the household cheerleader?} shrieked with glee and shouted “yeahhhh!” They still didn’t hustle to get out the door, however at least they were excited about the prospect of a family walk. My son on the other hand, was less than thrilled. He had a negative attitude and complained about having to do what everyone else tells him to do. I shook off the negativity and said, “oh well. We are all going.”

The walk started off slowly, finding helmets, scooters, bikes, ambling around; meanwhile I grow more and more impatient as I imagine the daylight slowly slipping away and our walk won’t happen.

Eventually, we made our way down the street. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was happy. The older two were racing their scooters, my husband and I walked slowly behind them pushing the stroller. We chatted about our days, we yelled to the kids to stop at the end of the street {safety first & yelling was most necessary because they were so far ahead}.

Our goal was the airport near our home. Our kids love watching for airplanes {especially my littlest}. We made it to the airport and watching planes take off and land. Our scootering kids raced in the large parking lot and the youngest asked to “get out”. She wanted to walk around herself.

We meandered around the airport looking at small planes, large jets, old planes, and news helicopters. The kids eyes grew large as they found bigger & better or older & cooler airplanes. Our youngest shrieked with joy “airplane! airplane!” She was so thrilled.

It was a delightful end to a full day. It was worth saying “not tonight” to a night out with friends to spend quality time with my family. That’s not always the case, however it was this time.

thankfulness & contentment

Paradigm Shift

Today I took the day off of work. I needed some down time. Life has been moving at a fast pace and I needed time to organize some things and spend time with my kids.

Well, it rained. I had big plans to sort through all the outgrown clothes. If you have more than one kid, you know what that means. It means the room looking like it exploded clothing…

With one kid hanging out with a friend and my other two kids sleeping, I decided to read a book. As I was reading, I kept thinking about how thankful I was with my life and how much we have been given.

I decided to put my book down and do a little creating; it’s fun for me. {Honestly, it’s probably fun for most people, if only you find the right medium.} It’s fun to get lost in a project. I pulled up pallets from the basement, paint and brushes from my art box, and sand paper from the garage. I set to work sanding, cleaning, painting and staining my boards.

It is easy to compare your life with everyone else’s; your neighbor, your sibling, your parents, your friends, your facebook “friends”, your followers on @instagram, the list goes on.

It takes intentionality to say “I am thankful for…” and “I am content with…” I don’t want to take life and all its blessings for granted. I chose painting these two words as reminders to always look for ways to be thankful and content with my life.

Life will throw you hurdles, however it will be easier with a thankful and content paradigm shift. It will be easier to walk through the hard when you can identify the thankful and content in your own life.

Instead of finishing out my day by organizing clothes, I took a moment for me. I pressed pause. Take a moment to think about what you are thankful for and what you are content with.

For me, I am thankful for my wonderful family and I am content with my home  {we have a roof over our heads, so many have much much less, may I never take it for granted}.

Date Night

An evening out

Last night, my husband and I went out on a date; it was glorious. We had two uninterrupted hours of the two of us talking about goals, plans, life, etc. I don’t think we talked much about the kids. 

So often in the business of life: work, school, cooking, cleaning, bills, laundry, life; we don’t prioritize a night out. And by sometimes I mean a lot of the time and by we I mean me. 🙋🏼

I recently returned from a trip to Sweden. It was lovely and life-giving and just what my soul needed. However, when I came home, it was full-force into life: as a wife, mom, and business owner. After a week home, I decided, “we need a date”. I quickly lined up a babysitter {thank you Ellen} and told my husband we were going out.

And so we did.

Date night. 

After taking a vacation away from my kids and husband {more on that later} I needed time to talk and connect with my husband. Date night happened and it was good.

Take a moment to think about your real, where you are in life. Remember to give yourself grace,  take time for yourself, take time for the people in your life. Get out on a date. Especially if you have kids. Even if you don’t have kids. If you’re not married, if you’re not even dating anyone. Have a date night, make time for yourself, do something for yourself {and someone else in your life}.

{note: the photo is from earlier this summer and not last night; we failed to take pictures last night because both of our phones were put away ☺️}