It was a slow sort of weekend.
Bray had the baby at the ranch for the weekend and I was hanging out with the eldest and little lady. Friday work travel left me exhausted, so we had little on the agenda outside a Saturday morning swim play date with the eldest’s best school friend.
This followed another slow sort of weekend filled with boat rides and cook outs at the farm.
I noticed something.
The kids loved the pace as much as I did.
In fact, as Saturday began to draw to an end, and all we had done was swim (an awful lot) and nap and play and treat ourselves to Mexican food for dinner, I received this pronouncement: This was the best day ever!
I’ve received those pronouncements more and more as we’ve dialed down for the summer. Why? Well, in their words, because we got to swim and play and have our friend over (or go to our friends or see grandfather). It was the two hours of swimming, or the individually wrapped Starburst, or the half hour of snuggles during a Disney movie, that shot a particular day to the top of their list.
This is one of the things I’m learning from my children. They can seize the day. With both hands. They can live right smack dab in the middle of the moment. They can rejoice in the simple pleasures. They can love more than anything the downtime they get with their favorite people – mommy, daddy, siblings, or close friends.
When the baby returned last night, he rushed in with his Cars rolling suitcase in hand, eyes sparkling, and said, I brought you sumfing (my heart will break when he starts saying something). He pulled out a needle and thread, sea shells, and a smooth rock. He lined them up and said, I thought you’d love them. I brought some for sister too. Oh boy did I love them. I hugged him and expressed my delight and was reminded for the tenth time this weekend about the beauty of simplicity. The joy of sharing your smallest discoveries.
We lose so much as adults. The ability to experience wonder. The skill to see the best in every experience. Children remind us how to do it. So I’m continuing to rework my schedule. To allow for these moments. And more importantly, to take delight in the small moments of every day.
Yes! This weekend, maybe due to the full moon or maybe just the wheels of summer finally embracing our DNA, the slow down was felt in mass. I went to Galveston for my usual weekend grounding (salt air and water, sometimes I pretend I’m at the Dead Sea)… but this weekend, I actually commented that it did feel slow. It felt like another geographic place, everyone was in the moment including the tide. I’ve never seen the water so calm, it was like glass and we spotted a Dolphin coming into the shallow beach. People stopped and enjoyed the moment. I am so glad I was not alone in my ethereal sense of “taking delights in the simplest things”. Thank you Gindi for sharing your simplest moments, which really are devised by God to help us all take a breath and breathe.
Oh I love that Arlene. Really slowing down and having nature around you cooperate. How wonderful. Glad you got some down time too.
This is such a great post and you are so spot on my friend. How easy is it for us to let the busyness of life take us from the people/things that matter the most-chief among them, our relationship with the one who sustains us and is responsible for it ALL. Thank you for reminding us all to slow down and focus on what matters the most.
Thanks Shavonnah! It’s a daily lesson.