Gone Fishin'

On the benefits of getting away from it all... and keeping in touch in the process.

     

Greetings from the tropics... or at least, Florida. We’re still here, now spending a few days on the east coast, visiting friends of the family. We drove over with my mother yesterday. My parents’ house is about a hundred and fifty miles from here, but she hasn’t made the trip in over ten years.

   

Which is a lesson for us all. Time passes quickly. Fortunately, these are the best type of friends: The kind where you feel like you just saw them yesterday, no matter how long it’s been. (And we’ve seen them in other places, so it’s not as bad as it sounds.)

 

My sons think we have discovered the coolest place ever. There is a freshwater pond in the back yard, complete with fishing dock. They haven’t caught anything yet, but that’s probably not really important. They are loving the process.

 

Conscious parenting is all about living in the moment... but sometimes, we parents need a reminder.

  

I am sitting in the lanai (Florida-speak for screened-in porch), listening to the rustle of palm trees. There is bamboo growing at the edge of the deck. It is about fifteen feet tall. We don’t have bamboo in New England, except for the little pot of “lucky bamboo” on my kitchen windowsill, which is sadly not thriving.

 

I am relaxed. I am breathing. I am writing. And loving the process.

 

This morning, I pulled out the notebook where I keep my master to-do list. With wonder, I perused its unseemly length. There were a couple dozen things that had felt really, really important when we were at home.

 

It hadn’t seen the light of day in over two weeks.

 

I took a few more moments, thinking about how all these formerly critical, terribly urgent assignments were still waiting to be done. Shouldn’t I be worried? Shouldn’t I be hyperventilating, just the tiniest bit?

 

And come to think of it, how am I functioning without my daily tsunami of Oh-my-God-how-am-I-ever-going-to-get-this-all-done adrenaline? My job as the poster child for adrenal fatigue is seriously at risk.

  

Amazingly, the world has continued to turn. Life goes on. We are enjoying a couple lovely weeks away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life and somehow, everything’s okay.

 

We're better than okay.

 

I'm trying to figure out how to keep the to-do list in hibernation after we go home next week. Maybe I should toss it to the fish.

  

  

Here is your conscious parenting tip for today: Try putting your to-do list away for a week. Or at least a day. See what happens to you and your family. How do you feel? Are you okay, or better than okay? Keep practicing ‘til it feels good!

 

 

P.S. Oops. They caught one... nope, they caught two! Woohoo.

 

  

Related Posts:

  

Read more about the joys of getting away from it all in, “French Connection: On Bonding with My Children While in Paris.”

 

Looking for a little inspiration, to jump start your conscious parenting practice? Try, "10 Ways to Be a Conscious Parent."

 

Recommended Reading: 

 

Parenting is stressful, even in the best of times. Do you spend too many days overwhelmed and exhausted?  Adrenal fatigue is nothing to joke about (at least, not much.) To learn more about this health condition that seems to be epidemic in modern society, check out Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome, by James L. Wilson, N.D., D.C., Ph.D.

 

Another great read: The Mood Cure: The 4-Step Program to Take Charge of Your Emotions -- Today. This clear, concise book by Julia Ross will walk you through all the "false moods" that seem to take over our lives -- and cause a lot of misery in the process. Life doesn't have to be so hard. Take the time to make yourself healthy. You and your family are worth the effort.