Yes, the holiday season will soon be upon us. Thanksgiving just a couple of weeks away…falling late in November this year there will be a shorter time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will blink and the holidays will have passed and we will be embarking on 2015. Are you as amazed as me that another year is swiftly passing by? Are you pleased? Has it been a good year? I continue to be in search of the near-perfect day. Not perfect, mind you. That brings too much pressure and disappointment. But near perfect, I do believe that is an attainable goal. What does your “day in the life” look like? Before we know it, we will be challenged by that annual ritual of new year’s resolutions. I’d like to get a jump start on all the “new year” goals and start making a change now.
What is your mind’s eye version of you? I really want you to think on this. Are you living it or does it always seem just out of reach? In my mind, I get up and get moving. Being that sleep is one of my favorite things, most days the get up and get moving part doesn’t work so well…I just want to linger. Change is in the air though and it is time to put off my old self. I have recently learned that I need to mesh my HEART time (known as daily Quiet Time to many) with my plan for my day. As I spend my time seeking our Creator’s plan and purpose for my life, it only makes sense to me (and it was recommended by two sweet friends!) that my day’s plan is mapped out during my morning HEART time. I am blatantly aware that too much time is sifting through my fingers. I don’t like it.
In my near-perfect day, there would be coffee, oh yes, and conversation. I am beginning to see that I am not the only one who is yearning for it. Face to face, heart to heart conversation is a growing need in those around me. I have been walking with a friend. It has been working out that we get together one afternoon, every other week for a bit more than an hour. I had forgotten just how many words can be shared in an hour’s time between girlfriends! It is delightful…it is food for my soul. Our time challenges me, makes me laugh, validates my thoughts. I know my Kenny finds the same food for his soul amongst the fish that find his hook. We are built different that way but nonetheless we must carve out time that helps us to think and to plan and to just enjoy this life we are living.
Food…ahhhh…food. It became my ritual a short time back to set the table. I am finding that groove again. We are a family that has always kept the family supper-time a connecting point in our day. I am so grateful for that. Setting a pretty table appeals to my creativity and, after a full morning and afternoon, helps as a motivator to actually cook something so that the table setting serves its purpose. Happy is me finding pretty dishes at a thrift store or garage sale. Today I picked up miniature gourds and pumpkins to enhance our autumn table. I want to feed my families feeling of comfort and “being home” as well as their bellies.
Alone time…no gadget, no music, no conversation. It is so rare that we can just enjoy the peacefulness of a quiet moment. Every fast food chain has screens in their eating areas these days. The smart phone has become an extension of an appendage for so many. I sat for over an hour in a dentist’s waiting room this week. The large screen with a repeating dental video was overwhelming in and of itself. The two adults and one child sharing this small space all had their eyes glued to their phones. One of theirs kept dinging a sound every 40-some seconds. I asked if he turn turn the sound off but he responded that he didn’t know how. As I sit here now, it is one of those moments where the kids are in a class, my man is at work, and I own the place. I am looking out over my back porch. It is a bit chilly or I would be sitting out there. The furnace is on but the window is open just enough to hear the crackling of the leaves. Peace…sweet, rare peace…and quiet.
These are just a few things that come to mind as I ponder what a great day in the life of me would look like. A plan for my day, time shared with my Creator, face-to-face conversation, food and talk shared amongst those I care most about, and a time of solitude-peace-quiet preferably out of doors. How about you? Are you thinking about something you are wishing you did daily but somehow never get around to? For me, I am putting my “few things” on the calendar. If I don’t, another day will slip away and my good intentions will be overridden by the seeming necessities of the day. Won’t you join me?
