TIME LAPSE LIVING

Remember wandering through childhood, savoring each day?  From pre-school we crawled through each milestone year and couldn’t grow up fast enough!  I knew it all (you too?!) because I’d been alive for “forever!”  Then, with working-woman and wife routines, time blurred a bit.  When kids showed up, we all piled in the Millinivan Falcon traveling at light speed.

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I hear time-continuum vortexes are in development to allow travel back to times after potty training and before potty mouths. Meanwhile, we can have kid-quality fun if we put up boundaries on the grown up disruptions.  While my goal focuses on extending my and my kids’ childhoods, this positively nurtures other relationships too!

Unplug

Turn off phones when hitting the road.  If you can’t do all weekend, just a few hours to give your undivided attention to the adventure and any traveling companions.  Your experience will have a stronger impact so when co-workers ask how your weekend was, you’ll count every smile!

At least do 30 minutes unplugged for yourself.  If you are on call, RESIST internet surfing or games.  Play-by-play announcements from my son enjoying his games are not conversation.

See things through their eyes

Remember how you felt at their age and what amazed you.  Sharing that sentiment recaptures your youth and you may spark something in their generation.  With someone beyond your years, notice how they appreciate the world.

Be Present

Whatever occupies your mind will wait and be just as powerful later. Push it aside, write it down – whatever stops your worrying and planning.  When you readdress it later, you’ll have the fun memories and a wider perspective with more focused energy.

Zoom in

Focus on the little things easily taken for granted – how it feels holding their hand, the taste of the love in the meal made especially for you, how exhilarated you feel after that roller coaster!  Collect these highlights and they provide pick-me-ups between adventures.

How can you have fun if you keep thinking is “I need to do…!” You lose more by missing valuable opportunities to be loved.  The balance works the other way too. How can you work efficiently if you keep thinking is “I need a vacation!”