Today, I woke up before my kids did. I showered, got dressed, put on a soft purple scarf and red lipstick, and started my day in the blissful stillness you only really appreciate when you become a parent.
The kids woke up, and I gave them a simple breakfast of yogurt and raspberries drizzled with agave. They ran outside to play, and for a change, they didn’t argue and fight the whole time. My husband rolled out of bed late and had breakfast with me, omelets with sauteed onion, avocado, and salsa topped with feta and goat cheese.
After breakfast, he started working, and I finished reading my book. I’ve been hooked on food memoirs lately, and Ruth Reichl is singing my heart song. My garden needed weeding and watering, the floor wanted sweeping, the dishes were calling, then kids needed lunch.
Then I walked to the local cafe to meet with an informal writing group to get a sales page draft worked through, some business admin taken care of, and hopefully write a little something that brings me joy, too.
Some mornings are a little more hectic and eventful than this, but more often than not, this is what life looks like for me. And it’s that way by design.
You have a choice when you wake up. You can act or react. Will you choose to take care of yourself or dive into email? What will your focus be? Will you even give yourself the opportunity to focus on what it is you really want out of the day?
Your day is compromised of these small moments and details you can opt in to. You can choose movement, good food, and savoring your child’s laugh – or you can choose to worry about something you can’t control, everything that you aren’t doing because you are too busy, or brush off what is going right.
You can decide to do things differently. Why wait for tomorrow? Just stop. Reassess.
Start now.