Waiting for the next day off.
Waiting for that weekend with friends.
Waiting for the kid to be done with school.
Waiting for someone to text me back.
Wating for the laundry to ding.
Waiting for the what’s next in my life.

You name it. I always seem to be waiting for something. How about you?
What happened to just living?

I had a minute to sit down the other day and all I could think about was something happening in the future. And to be honest, if I’m not thinking about something in the future, I’m thinking about something in the past.

Why is the present so neglected?
Why is it so hard to enjoy RIGHT NOW?

I have glimpses of this phenomena. Walking in the park and breathing in the fresh air, or feeling the sun on my face as I sit outside while the kids run and play or catching a sweet moment between my boys when they think I’m not looking. Or getting lost in a Netflix documentary or having a needed conversation with a best friend.

But this doesn’t happen enough anymore.

The older I get, the busier I am, the harder it becomes to just BE. Most of the time, I’m just waiting for the next thing to happen and I’m wasting precious time.

Working from home, I’m very isolated on a daily basis. I talk to people via social media or text or even a phone call, but sometimes I don’t see another person besides my husband and my kids for days at a time. And between mom life, client life, housework life, etc. it weighs on me. And the mundane tasks and crazy workload and loneliness take over.

So what do I do?
WAIT for something exciting to happen.
WAIT until I see someone.
WAIT until the day ends.

And all I’ve done is lost another day. Lost another day that I can’t get back, because it wasn’t as exciting as some other day?? That’s ridiculous.

I can’t do that anymore. I can’t just sit and wait. I can be excited for things to come, but more importantly, I need to be excited about right now.

Don’t you feel the same?

We wait, we anticipate, we build things up and then IT actually happens.

The day off. The vacation. The event. The thing we were WAITING FOR…

And then in the blink of an eye, it’s over.

Sometimes it’s great…

You saw that best friend you’ve been missing and had a glorious weekend.
You saw that concert you’ve been dying to see.
You got that gardening project done and it looks amazing.

Sometimes it sucks…

The day off didn’t go as planned and you ended up doing 10 loads of laundry.
The vacation was ruined by rain and those beach days turned into hotel pool days.
Your friends bailed on you and you spent the night alone.

Whether it was amazing or not, when it’s done, you’re sad. IT went too fast.

You’re sad that you have to wait another three years before you can visit your friend, or that that concert might never come back to your city or that your vacation was ruined or that your friends are changing.

We focus on the NEXT PART instead of IT. We have to stop waiting and start living. We have to be grateful and thankful for every second we get on this Earth.

You got to see your best friend! Memories you can carry with you forever.
You got to go that concert. An experience that you can share.
You did that gardening project. An accomplishment you can relish in.
Your day off was boring but you got that laundry done. A productive day to enjoy.
Your vacation wasn’t perfect, but you still got to go. A moment you can laugh about later. 
Your friends bailed this time, but it’s just an excuse to plan something else. A reminder to be grateful you have these people in your life. 

When IT is happening…Enjoy. Reflect. Take a breath. Take it in. Take the picture. Stay off the Internet. Make the friends. See the world. Write it down. Just be there for IT. 

And hey, I’m sitting here on a cloudy Thursday, with laundry to put away and dishes to do. And yes, I’m kinda waiting for the weekend…the next IT.

But I can enjoy the right now. The fact that I’m writing, which is my greatest love. The fact that I’m breathing. The fact that my son is sleeping on the couch and I get to go look at him anytime I want. The fact that I’m cooking a great dinner later.

I can live for today. Can you?

We get stuck in the monotony of work, sleep, work, repeat. But every day is a blessing, every little minute, and when it’s time for the big IT to happen, that’s just icing on the cake.

I might not be going to the beach this weekend or even seeing any friends, but I have a date with my oldest son to sit on the couch at 7 am on Saturday and watch the Royal Wedding. I’ll have a Mimosa, he’ll have an orange juice and it will be a memory I make, a simple moment I can enjoy, a time to be present.

Don’t wait for IT.
IT can be every moment of every day.
Live for NOW.