Being "IN" The Moment

"Be in the moment." "Slow down and smell the flowers." "Quiet your mind." How often have we heard these words? Well, this is what I want to know: why the hell is something that sounds so simple, seem so insurmountably difficult for me?

My wheels are constantly spinning, from the moment my feet hit the floor in the morning, til they hit the bed at night. Get up, make breakfast, clean up the dirty dishes while supervising 4 kids that are supposed to be: eating the breakfast I made them, getting dressed, brushing teeth and hair, making lunches, making their beds before bolting, taking vitamins, and packing their backpacks (not necessarily in this order). They all load into the car for school, and suddenly I have a random thought: IS Cosette wearing underwear? Cosette "forgot" to put on panties one day and wore a skirt to preschool. So it's like flashbacks from 'Nam sometimes.

I mean, seriously, these are the things I think about. And on it goes...While they're at school: I run, go grocery shopping, pay bills, prepare for work, with the slight possibility of getting a shower in on a good day.

Come home from school, unload, and start the grueling process of homework, helping where need be. Supervise putting of homework away into the backpack, while starting dinner. Eat dinner, clean up dishes, supervise showers, quiet reading time, brushing of teeth, and saying prayers before the lights go out.

How the hell am I supposed to be "in" the moment when I am so freaking busy? I can't even have a BM without an audience.

I took the girls to the "re-opening" of Happy Hollow last week. We arrived at 2:00 and pulled up to the parking cashier. "No fee, today?" I asked, hopefully. "No, we close at 2:00 today," he cheerfully replied. In unison, my girls groaned from the back seat loudly. "Ok, thanks a lot Dream Smasher," I said. He laughed. I didn't.

NOW WHAT?!!!! We have been waaaaaaiting to see Danny the Damn Dragon for what seems like an eternity. And now you're denying me access not only to Danny, but to the lemurs, and Guinea Pig Island? I had a fleeting moment of breaking into Happy Hollow after hours...

Not wanting to totally abandon the situation, we meandered our way over to the Japanese Friendship Gardens, where all the fish had died from algae manifestation. I still tried to remain calm and hopeful that we would make the best of it.

And you know what? We did. I laid on the grass and blabbed with my aunt, shockingly enough, uninterrupted. My girls rolled down lush green hills giggling, and went on adventures. It was a PERFECT day. It was 75 degrees in March, and we were off of school. I thought for a second, maybe, THIS is what people are talking about when they say, "Be in the moment".

I was in the tub the other night, when Emma wandered into the bathroom. "Mama, why do you make your bath so hot?" she asked. "It helps me relax," I said. She was quiet for a moment, and then her eyes became as big as dinner plates, as if having a revelation. "Ohhhhh, I understand. I like to sing and climb the Magnolia tree...that helps ME relax."

I looked at my 7 year old, and thought in amazement, she knows how to be in the moment! Maybe, just maybe, some of it will rub off onto me.