Early morning New Year's window display, PortlandI came up with three things I wanted to give specific effort to. Regular exercise, reading more books aloud to the children, and ... gulp ... actual family breakfasts' during the school week.
Exercise. One of those things I'm always glad I do ... once it is over. I'm averaging four times a week for about 40 minutes on the treadmill. This is a good start, but far from becoming habit. Blah. Must keep going.
Reading. I often am rushing to get the children into bed so the quiet part of the evening can begin. Storytime has become a casualty of this pursuit, which is horrible given my near desperate and personal love for literature. My father's old third grade copy of Clarence Goes to Town (passed on to me when I graduated and set off to teach my own third grade class) has come to the rescue, and this part of our day is quickly becoming an easy habit. Hurrah!
Breakfast. This past year we established Sunday dinners and it has proven to be the highlight of our week. The food? Yes, it's wonderful. But combine it with time together and it becomes a rich experience. So, enter breakfast. It's always been slapdash during the week. Oatmeal, muffins, pancakes or eggs, all nice enough, but pretty much tossed at the kids to eat at the counter while Pops and I scurried around with our own agendas.
We've now done two weeks of breakfast together. Sit-down style at an actual table, eating with each other. Yes, I get up a little earlier than I used to. Yes, I plan it out a bit more than before. However, our mornings are so ... pleasant! It's not yet routine, but I think it just might become so.
Do you ever feel like me? Realizing there is just so much in your own life to participate in that you don't want to pass you by? My days are full of life's imperfections, but still, such opportunity they hold.
Breakfast was one of my goals for this year, too. It's been wonderful! It's so nice to actually sit down together and chat in the mornings instead of running around, crossing paths occasionally.
ReplyDeleteOh how your words encourage me! -And, for what it's worth, I am so proud of you for exercising!!! That is hard to do! :) 40 minutes is really long! (I was gasping after 15...like I said, you encourage me - in this case, to keep going!)
ReplyDeleteI hope y'all have a wonderful breakfast tomorrow!
Family breakfast -- how lovely! I'd love to hear a sampling of your menus.
ReplyDeleteOh how you've hit the nail on the head as far as my own thoughts just today. I wrote to a friend today after pondering some of my own "realizing" and wrestling with where blogging fits in... "There seems so much to savor right now, so much to hear from Him, and energy needing to be channeled other ways..."
So, yes, I understand and am grappling with savoring life's opportunities, as well as prioritizing them.
I don't know how you sew, cook, exercise that often. I feel like I'm barely getting laundry done half the time. I guess I need to prioritize better so I can enjoy some little things, maybe. Encouraging post!
ReplyDeletewe just started daily coffee dates while the baby sleeps..which means up at 5 AM. painful at first, but we're enjoying it so much now we're both diappointed when its over and we have to start the day. :)
ReplyDeleteDawnelle-
ReplyDeleteThe short answer ... because I am not nearly as diligent as you in taking care of more responsible tasks! That and you've got an extra three kids!
Girlfriend, you do an amazing job.
I don't know, I think I am inspired now to just do a bit less of the mundane and make time for some fun, more meaningful things.
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