multi-hyphenated-me

A friend of mine posted on her blog, livefullyalive, today that there are sixteen weeks left in the year. Sixteen short weeks, one hundred and twelve days until 2013 is over. 

“That’s it!?!’  Was my first reaction. I’m already stymied by this short week due to the Labor Day holiday, beaten down with back-to-school week and now this newsflash. Not that, on September 6, December 31 seems far away.  Click through the upcoming holidays and the end is obviously near.

A long time ago, I attended a conference that had a slogan, Mo Chi Chu, translation:  moving straight ahead without hesitation.  Life is very easy to spend hunched over like a linebacker pushing through until week 16 is upon us, barreling through what comes our way to meet our goals or reach our destination.

My husband and I practice living in the moment, staying centered and in the now. We’re an interesting combo because he’s naturally a forward thinking dreamer and I’m nostalgically rooted. Not surprising if you know he is a water sign, constantly swimming upstream, and I’m an earth sign, rooted and  grounded.  Staying present, in the now, can be a challenge for us both regardless of our elements.  As goal and project driven people, we both look at what’s coming up next, as in the next 16 weeks, to see what we can achieve in that time frame as we are inclined to make the most of each day.

Yet our practice of staying in the now, reminds us to slow down, make each moment count, and be grateful for what we have.

Tonight at dinner we congratulated the boys on finishing their first week at their new schools.  We acknowledged that it hasn’t been an easy week but each day the boys each shared a story that included someone else, a friend, a connection. We gave thanks for our health, in spite of our son’s soccer injury this week that has him sidelined at the onset of soccer season, and all of us low on sleep from the recent thunderstorms. This week has definitely left us wounded but has not stopped us. 

Today, I’m grateful that my oldest son is safe.  He was impatient waiting for us to pick him up after school so he decided, with his bum knee and foot, to walk/limp home.  I didn’t see him as I drove to pick him up, couldn’t find him in the parking lot or on campus and was on the verge of panic before my husband called to inform me that our son walked home.  When I got home, he griped at me because I was late.  After telling him I was thankful he was safe, I reminded my son that he has a cell phone, not to talk or text with his friends, but so I can reach him whenever I need to, for whatever reason.  If he is going to walk, call me, as I called him to tell him I was late. 

At that moment, I paused.  I remembered having the same conversation with my daughter, his older sister, when she was in junior high and having the conversation again with my son gave me pause.  I hugged my boy at that moment.  He squirmed.  In that moment, I realized how quickly he will grow up as his sister before him went from junior high to sweet sixteen to college in a blink of an eye. 

With only 16 weeks left in the year, the holidays are soon upon us.  Remember to take each day as it comes and embrace the special moments in our lives.

Thanks LiveFullyAlive for inspiring my post tonight!  I am grateful for you my friend.