A couple of weeks ago, I looked at my calendar and noticed an incredibly rare sight – a weekday that was completely void of meetings, appointments, therapy, tutoring, and extracurriculars. It was slightly surreal.
I wish I could say it was purposeful. It wasn’t. That wide open day was the result of a series of “no more, not now, not right, not working, no thank you” decisions. The kids had over a course of weeks convinced us it was time to say no more or not now to aerial, soccer, and martial arts. My husband and I had just decided to say not right/not working to our daughter’s dyslexia tutor and had also agreed to slightly decrease the frequency of our son’s therapist visits. I am working hard on only saying “yes please” to things I truly want to be doing, and as a result am finding a slight increase in the use of the words “no thank you.”
On a Wednesday afternoon in mid-November, all of those “no more, not now, not right, not working, no thank you” decisions converged and gifted us with a beautiful, unscheduled (beyond school and work), unplanned, no expectations day. And it was lovely. It was easy, and slow-paced, and unremarkable. It was a day I hope we can find a way to replicate again, and again, and again.
Two weeks have passed, and we haven’t had a repeat of that day. Even with the “no more, not now, not right, not working, no thank you” decisions, life still rolls on. We all still have things to do and places to be – although with the editing our decisions forced, the places we have to go are for the most part places we truly want to be, so there is a lightness and easiness to busy afternoons and evenings that did not exist before.
My daughter asked me yesterday what I want for Christmas. What do I want? I want more “no more, not now, not right, not working, no thank you” decisions that will end in easy, slow-paced, unremarkable days. I want that for me. I want that for my family. And I want that for each of you reading this – because it is a series of easy, slow paced and unremarkable days that will fill us all up for the harder and faster paced days that are bound to return at some point.
And in case you are wondering what a day completely void of meetings, appointments, therapy, tutoring, and extracurriculars looks like…Here’s a screenshot of my actual calendar from that day. #goals
We're All A Little Broken 