Switching Gears

I like this word of the month business.  That said, I've been ready to move onto February's word for a week already.

I enjoyed those little moments that I had to stop and tell myself  "Be here.  Be here right now.  Put away the iPod, the computer, put away your other thoughts and just play!"

Still, I think it comes with the territory of mommy-hood that you are thinking of several things at once.  Those moments may not have lasted as long as I intended them to.  But what can I say?  I have about 100 million things to do.  And my family was a priority most of the time. Still, my mental health has to be a priority too!

I felt good about the things I learned this month, my changing definition of the word present and how it applied to my life.  And I noticed things.  I noticed that my little guy was watching my mouth move when I talk.  I got to enjoy his laughs whenever he sees his big sister (he LOVES her).  I heard as my daughter finally started to voice the things she is thinking.  I sat on the couch and got to visit with my husband when he got home from work.  We probably didn't do it nearly enough, but on the days we did I thought it helped us catch up.

Now I'm DONE with being present.  Alright, not forever.  But I am SO ready to move on!  Any guesses for February's word of the month?

Being Real

I ran into an article on the Huffington Post the other day, that completely (or often) describes my thoughts about parenthood in the trenches. 

People that are constantly saying on their blogs -  "I love being a parent! My kids are so great!" Without ever saying "Dude, this is really hard."  occasionally annoy me. 

Maybe this is just because I want to know there are people out there that struggle being optimistic like me.  Anyway...

I've got nothing against being nice, being positive and I'm always trying to be MORE optimistic, more happy.  But I also feel a good deal of relief being REAL sometimes.

This article made me look at my January word of being Present and laugh a little bit.  And I realized I might have being viewing this word as an attempt to "Hey!  Enjoy every moment Maggie!  Remember how all the old ladies tell you to enjoy every moment??" But after reading this article, I realized that if I can enjoy the moment and be present just once or twice a day (In the article she talks about Kairos moments.  Those.) that I am doing just fine. 

This article called Don't Carpe Diem is seriously worth the read.  I hope you'll follow the link.

I do think I am going to write myself a letter (to be opened in 10 years.  Then I'll re-do it for 20 years) because I sometimes think of small snipets I want myself to remember.  I want myself to remember what it was REALLY like having small children at home.  I want people with small children to be able to visit my house and not worry about breakable junk on my bookshelf.  I'll save a small box of toys.  Things like that.

What would you want to remember after your kids get older?  So that we arn't those crazy people saying "aww.  Are you enjoying EVERY moment?"

Being Present

Well, I've found out very quickly that I am not very good at this particular focus.  Turns out, I possibly could focus on being present ALL YEAR long.  Perhaps I will continue to focus on this. 

My mind is often all over the place.  Particularly right now when I am waiting for some specific things to happen so I can "move forward"  

Two times this week I was playing with my daughter during her room time and I specifically had to tell myself to focus on what we were doing, to just play and enjoy.  I was happy I did it.  It's not easy for me.  My mind might wander, especially when we repeat play.  But I tried and felt much more fulfilled for doing it that way.

I've also totally messed it up.  Today we were taking a walk and she wanted to go into one cul-de-sac and I did not.   Honestly, I was frustrated most of the walk because I was having to push her bike (while she walked).  The worst part was I knew that I was missing out of the simple pleasure of walking on a nice day.  I don't know why it's hard to push that stuff aside sometimes!

I'd been a little disappointed I have been unable to find many quotes that go along with being present.  Not that I've had much time to look!  Tonight I was reading Forget Me Not by Dieter F. Uchtdoft I happened upon something that fit.  (There are many good thoughts in this talk, this is just one of them)

"The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments.  They are the ones who, thread by daily thread, weave a tapestry of gratitude and wonder throughout their lives.  These are they who are truly happy."

Word of the Month: Present

 So I asked my friends on facebook what word they would choose if they were choosing a word to focus on this year - instead of making a resolution.  It was fun to hear what people thought.  But I actually asked this question because I didn't think I could come up with just one word for the year, so I came up with a word of the month.   I picked twelve words, drew them out of a hat and wrote them in my planner for January, February and so on.  Of course, I can't find my planner at the moment (maybe this months word should have been organize, but what can I do, it was random) but I know that my word for the month is:  Present

In the future I hope to have a little bit more information for you about the word of the month, some good quotes and stuff.  Life is a little hectic right now so today I'll just tell you why I chose this word.

Present - as in aware, living in the moment, appreciating what is happening in your life right now, feeling your emotions, instead of running through your day.

I choose this word to focus on this month to remind myself to enjoy what is happening right now, and more particularly the people in my life and what is happening with them NOW.  Honestly, three days in, I can't say I am getting very far, though I am trying to PAY ATTENTION and not do several things at once.  This means a lot of staying off my ipod so I'm not surfing the web and playing a game with my daughter.  

Any good thoughts about being Present?