Grasping each moment. Paying attention to my loved ones. Loving my family. Appreciating my life. These are actions that I try to take every day. Stopping in the midst of a busy day to say “I love you”, to offer an unsolicited kiss, to hold a hand, to hug someone. Each day is full of these opportunities. Some days I find myself racing through trying to strike another item from my ‘to-do’ list, impatient with myself and others. When I feel my throat closing from anxiety about all that I have planned to do, I try to take a moment to sit down in the warm sun and wait. I wait for my pulse to slow down and for my indolent nature to manifest so that I can stop and look and SEE what is happening around me.

What I see can be pleasing or disturbing. It can be a reason to reaffirm my determination to attack my ‘to-do’ list or it can be that momentary reminder that the list is not an end, it is a means, a means to a more realised self. The list has no value in and of itself. The value is in where the list takes me and how it helps me to develop.

Sometimes NaBloPoMo is just another thing on my long list of things to do, but when I can sit down and remember that there is a greater purpose in it, that I can delve into myself to find a nugget of significance then it becomes illuminated by meaning and purpose. This is just a reminder to me to stop and savor things, to turn them over in my mind and tease meaning from them, to find my joy in my life because this is my only life.

Today was a day that was filled from beginning to end with the minutiae of daily living. A tour of school that we’re considering for the kidlet, cleaning and organizing and management, shopping for furniture, email and computering for work, grocery shopping and dinner making. In between all of these things were the moments of watching my children grow up, listening to someone read a book, observing someone as she learns to walk, sitting in the sun with a delicious coffee, making plans for next year, bringing the family together for a homemade meal and ♥ love ♥ filling up the cracks. Twas simple and lovely and all that I ask is for it to continue and grow.