Rhythms to slow. it. down.

There are certain times in the day when a skip-ahead button seems to get hit on the clock.  Between 8:42 and 8:52 AM on preschool mornings, for example.  "Time to brush teeth, Julian!" in a sing-song voice with all the time in the world suddenly becomes, "Yikes, Julian - we have to get in the van NOW!"  

Every unclaimed moment has quite a few things ready to claim it, which I think is where the skip-ahead button hides.  I have plenty of time, so I'll go ahead and throw in a load of laundry before we leave.  There are twenty minutes until I am supposed to be there, so I'll just swing by the grocery store.  And on and on.

I have been noticing a few rhythms in our day, though, that fight the fast-forward feeling.  The morning rhythm of letting in the sunlight, for example.  Before I start packing lunches and helping everyone make the bus, I open the downstairs curtains to welcome the day.  After the older three boys are headed to school, I make my way upstairs to do the same.  Moving room to room to get things in order for a new day gives me some pause, and on particularly beautiful autumn days, I slide curtains to reveal picturesque landscapes framed by window trim.  Breathe.  Slow time.  

I feel that same pause when I water my indoor plants or head outside to remove spent blooms from my hardy annuals in the front.  I never seem to have a large enough chunk of time actually to complete the task, but the few minutes I garden before the afternoon bus are some of the most lusciously-long moments of my day.

Finally, a podcast recommendation: The Next Right Thing Podcast by Emily P. Freeman. I often drive to teach a piano lesson on Tuesdays, the same day each new episode releases.  As I travel twenty minutes through a nature preserve (my choice - not quite as fast as the highway, but another way to take a breath), I listen: once on the way there, and then a repeat on the way back, taking two times to ruminate on each thoughtful phrase.  Emily opens the podcast with this qualifier: "This is a podcast for the second-guessers, the chronically hesitant, or anyone who suffers from decision fatigue. This is also a place though for those of you who may just need a little white space or a few minutes away from the constant stream of information or the sometimes delightful but also distracting hum of entertainment. You long for thoughtful story, a little prayer, and a simple next right step."