This week I had a few chances to "practice what I preach".
A few weeks ago Gloria signed me up for a field trip and looked at me with those eyes when she asked me to sign the form that said I would be willing to accompany her entire class on a full-day field trip. I'm sure I rolled my eyes a few times before signing and then I began to silently dread it. As the date grew closer I did a lot of self talk, "It's my turn. . . It's important to Gloria. . . It won't be so bad. . . It's just one day out of my life. . . It will be an adventure. . . yada, yada, yada. . . " Part of my problem, honestly, is that I'm not a big fan of small talk. If I'm around people that I know and am comfortable with, I can talk about all kinds of stuff. But if you put me in a room full of strangers, there is only so much I can come up with about the weather.
But the biggest thing was, I didn't think I could miss work. And actually I think I got to the heart of it when I told Rob the night before that I just didn't want to spend the day thinking about work instead of being fully present on the field trip. I'm a multi-tasker and I'm not good at being in the moment. There is always something else to do, something else to think about, somewhere else to be. And believe me, I know that things will not fall apart if I don't show up at work. But I made Rob a big list just to make sure. . . (I have a problem, I know. . . ).
Friday morning, bright and early, Gloria's class, her teacher and 3 other parents besides myself, walked to the bus stop and waited for the City Bus. We had a 45 minute bus ride that would take us down town. . .
Once we arrived downtown, we walked from 8th and Main to The Discovery Center on 2nd and Myrtle:
(You can see it on the map right here)
After the Discovery Center, we walked through Julia Davis Park to BSU for a tour of the chemistry lab. We looked at cancer cells through a microscope and heard about the research that is being done to cure it. . .
And then we took the long walk back down Capital and along 9th Street to the bus stop at 8th and Main. . .
And another 45 minute bus ride. . .
By the time we arrived back at the school it was time to head back out to Meridian and The Boys and Girls Club so Zach could put in his service project hours (he is really enjoying it, by the way).
This brings me to the next chance I had to enjoy the moment. A couple of weeks ago, the Hutchings had invited us out to their house to roast dogs and marshmallows but the weather had not been very cooperative. We made plans to make it happen Friday night and, in spite of my tired, dragging feet, we headed out to Columbia Village and had a great time with Hutchings and Hickersons!!
Gloria had a chance to love all over Eva while the rest of us sat around the fire and talked about everything. No agenda, no plan and pretty much nothing was off limits. Seriously. It was lovely!
And THEN, if that wasn't enough living-in-the-moment, I had also made plans with Steph to go to Corri's play at Capital High School on Saturday night. My mind has a tendency to find excuses to not make plans because it seems like I always disappoint people when I can't make it but this time I was determined to make a plan and stick with it. So glad that I did. We went to the play, Corri did a great job AND it was fun hanging out with Steph!
And THEN, when I got home, Zach texted and asked if I wanted to play a game. That's something that I rarely turn down. He has so little time to play Catan anymore with his busy school schedule that, even though we didn't start the game until 11 p.m., I agreed. We played until after 1 a.m. . .
And now, I'm sitting in my office on a Sunday afternoon attempting to do my taxes but mostly just enjoying the silence. Making it count is exhausting. But worth it. . .
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