I don’t know about you but sometimes I have a hard time listening. Not to others as much as I do to my body.
We had our immediate family over on Sunday in celebration of hubb’s birthday. This consists of our oldest boy, his wife and their two little kids, our youngest son, my father-in-law, hubbs and me. It was busy and fun and quite a lot of work. Pots boiling, dishes simmering, little kids buzzing through and stopping to help and play and giggle and charm.
About halfway through the action, I felt the teeniest pinch of something. Just a twinge … of a stomach ache. Nothing serious but certainly not comfortable.
Hugs and smooches in the driveway and little hands waving as they drove away, I turned to hubbs who declared, “Honey .. you’re grey!”
“I know,” I said.
“You ought to just go to bed,” he declared.
But … there are toys to pickup, dishes to do, etc. etc. etc.
mashed potatoes from scratch, of course
“Shhh,” he said. “We’ll help… and the rest? The rest can wait.”
And he was right.
So I did something I haven’t done since I was about 5th grade … I went to bed on a Sunday night before 8:00 pm … and slept for 11 hours. Me!! The person the family can set their watch to, down for the count. And I was all the better for it.
Above and beyond the physical ramifications, I’ve decided I want to be more mindful of how I expend my energy. Does it really matter that I served a buffet of hot, flavorful choices or that we all had the opportunity to sit together and enjoy ourselves?
And, one more thing, this week, I realized I also want to be more in the moment. In the past, I have spent so much energy looking forward to something that I zipped through it and nearly missed it when it happened. I have been so focused on that delightful horizon – on planning, prepping, arranging and doing that I forget to make allowances for … being.
We are human beings after all (vs. human doings).
~Sigh~
Another reminder that I am still a work in progress. And you? How well do you listen? (to your body and yourself, that is).
