day to day

I remember reading a book in college called Wisdom Distilled from the Daily.  I honestly don't remember much of the book's subject matter.  But I do vague memories of it having something to do with finding the sacred in the day to day.

I think we often focus on "big" moments--monumental events, milestones, game-changers.  But much of life is the ordinary, the mundane, the routine.  Those big moments are few and far between.  If we aren't really living in all those in between moments, what are we doing?  

But I confess that I don't always appreciate the daily grind as I should.  Children are little for such a brief time, and I know that, but there are still days when it's just hard.  I'm tired, I'm grumpy, I'm overwhelmed, and everything seems monotonous.  

When I look back on my childhood, of course I remember the "big" moments--birthdays and holidays and celebrations.  But I also remember a whole host of little moments--ordinary, day-to-day type moments.  So I'm trying to remember to be fully present in those moments with my own children.

I don't always succeed.  I'm still tired and grumpy more often than I'd like.

But tonight we celebrated.  What did we celebrate?  Well, nothing really.  But Sarah wanted a candlelight dinner.  She wanted cloth napkins and fancy glasses and so forth.  So I made spaghetti, and we had salad and pineapple and garlic bread, and we ate by the light of flickering flames.

It felt special.  We sat and talked long after the food was finished.  I admit the darkness made it hard to see, so Natalie ended up wearing some of her spaghetti, but all in all it was a big success.

Here's to enjoying fully the day to day.  :) 

Excuse the clutter--this is real life, people!  ;)