Someone once asked me a really profound and beautiful question. They said, “You know, if you could go back in time and talk to your 35-year-old self when your kids were a little younger, what would you say?”
I thought about it, and thought I might tell my 35-year-old self, “You spent so much time, energy, and attention on making plans and building your future life. But you’re missing it.”
Parenting is a full time job. Not to mention all the other responsibilities we may have. It’s easy to get caught up in the planning and building. “If I could just make this much, we could do this…” or “If we can just get the kids dressed we could do that…” We end up spending so much time working on our future life and achieving our goals and dreams that we miss what’s right in front of us. The giggling kids. The silly jokes. The wonder in finding a newly changed leaf. Life is happening right in front of us and we’re missing it.
There’s a great saying that says, “Life is what happens when you’re making your plans.” Don’t work so hard at making your plans. Sure, it’s necessary to make plans. It’s necessary to work hard to provide for a family. But when we get so lost in making plans that we forget to live, we miss the blessing of each day.
Stop and relax a little. Hug those kids. Focus on the life that you’re in right now, and love the people around you. Because life is here, now.