It's Friday morning of a long weekend. Little man woke at 5:30am asking me to read to him. By 6:30am he was asleep again. As I sit, waiting for him to wake, I am lost in the quiet and stillness of this morning. It was grey and looked like it might rain, but the sun is peeking out now, the birds have been active and happy at the backyard feeders, and I have moved slowly, maybe too slowly, through the morning.
Things on the homestead are moving slowly too. The gardens are a little behind, the trees seem to be taking forever to fully bloom, and it feels like the daffodils, tulips and other spring flowers are hanging out longer than ever. I am not complaining about the extra time with those beautiful flowers, just noticing that I get to enjoy them longer than usual. The slowness of it all suits me just fine, I like the slow motion version of nature, watching it unfurl before my eyes, bit by bit, leaf by leaf. It's a magical dance. The one thing that hasn't slowed down is a certain little man who insists on growing up a little more each day.
It goes without saying, that yes, children grow up, it's what they do. I can't stop it, I can't slow it down, it happens and I have absolutely not control over it. What I do have control over each day is what I choose to focus on. I have this quote sitting on the sill of my kitchen window:
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." ~ Annie Dillard
It's sits in a frame, and at least three times a day when I do dishes, I read it. It usually gets read more than that, but at least three times a day, without fail. And it is the perfect and constant reminder that what I choose to focus on, what I choose to do, how I choose to live each day is how I will spend my life.
So, no, I can't slow down how fast my little man is growing. I can't slow down the days, the moments, the minutes to soak them up more fully. What I can do is make a conscious decision to live my days slowly, to be present and mindful, to make choices that allow space to witness the everyday, ordinary moments that make up life, my life. Because, yes, that quote has so much truth behind it. How I spend each day, is how I spend my life.
How are you spending your days, friends?