Enjoying The Moment

Today when my son asked if I wanted to go to church I said yes. We went together as a family last year and I really enjoyed the experience. Today, I also made the decision to be in the moment. To enjoy this day. To enjoy these hours I have with my son and grandson's without checking my phone. Without looking at my emails or social media posts. To not feel the need to document each activity as it happens to share immediately to social media. I wanted to really listen to their conversations. To find out what's going on in their lives. To talk to them. To share what I have been up to. To laugh at their jokes. To enjoy being in church with them. You see, I don't get the opportunity to spend much time with them because I live in Chicago and they live in Huntsville. So I miss a lot of precious moments. The service was beautiful. It was a beautiful Christmas play about how Jesus is the reason for this season. So today I made the decision to be present and just enjoy each minute.

Being in the moment is also one of my 2020 goals. I want to enjoy each activity I take part in. I want to feel the excitement, savor the smells, listen when someone is talking to me. I mean really listen. I don't want to rush through things just to get it done. Even the things that are not fun, a hard project for work, or something difficult. I want to learn from each experience. I want to have a take away from it all. A lesson learned. A memory.

Many times we are just trying to get things done. We get no real joy. We are not in the moment at all. I remember when I was in school for my Masters. I didn't do many of the activities they had for students. I missed the workshops, the receptions, the special speakers. I was just trying to get it done. I was just trying to cross it off my "to do" list. Now I want to enjoy life to the fullest. That means all of it.

So starting with this holiday season let's really enjoy the time with our loved ones. Let's put our phones down and talk.

Here are some of the things I will be doing with my family. Without checking my phone. :)

Watching Christmas movies

Christmas shopping

Wrap presents with my grandsons

Playing games (Uno, Monopoly)

Going down Christmas Tree Lane (looking at Christmas decorations downtown)

TALKING

Photo by S&B Vonlanthen on Unsplash