Living in the Present

I am an "anticipator". For me, whether attending or hosting a play date, dinner party or out-of-town trip, 80% of the joy and pleasure comes from the planning and anticipation of the event rather than the event itself. As such, I am always looking forward to "the next thing"--something scheduled on the calendar; a developmental milestone; the next stage of life. While this practice helps me be more organized and prepared as much as possible, it often gets in the way of my ability to "live in the present". Sometimes I consciously have to stop and remind myself to enjoy whatever I happen to be doing in that moment--often something with Emily--because I will never have that moment again, and all to soon, I will be longing for it to come back. Or worse, wishing I could do it over. I was reminded of this again when a passage out of What Every Mom Needs by Elisa Morgan & Carol Kuykendall really struck me yesterday:

"We tend to keep waiting for life to get better when, really, it just gets
different. If the grass looks greener on the other side of your fence,
it may be because you're not investing your time and energy in your own
grass. Live in the present."

I feel this is especially true for this season of life. The daily grind can so easily cloud the rainbow in the bigger picture. There are definitely moments, days and even weeks where I can't wait to just get through it--whatever "it" is. But the old adage, "This too shall pass..." applies to both the good and the bad, so as my sister-in-law, Brandi, says, "Endure it or enjoy it," and always look for the rainbows!