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When life gives you a rainy day, dance in the puddles

And just like that… we are in December.  I know I’m not alone in feeling this way, but every year it feels like I am anticipating fall and as soon as Halloween finally gets here, you blink and it’s Christmas.  There is no breathing room to take in the all special moments.  And the older Zoe has gotten, the more important those special moments truly are.  We want to make these memories as beautiful as possible.  But how do you fit it all in?  And more importantly, how do you stay focused on the magic instead of all the stress?  Traffic, crowds, holiday parties, shopping for the perfect gifts, decorating, cooking, cleaning… the list goes on and on.  Sure, some of these are fun commitments, but they are also stress. 

We get this vision in our head of how it is supposed to be, that perfect tree, the perfect Christmas morning – but it is an unrealistic expectation to have.  Perfect isn’t possible.  But what is possible is slowing time down.  Yes, I mean it – you can hit the pause for just a few moments.  That is what I did today.  On this rainy day off, my list of things to do goes a mile long.  There are errands to run, laundry to fold, preparations to be made, and never enough time in a day.  But here is the secret to making time stop… you can always put those things off until tomorrow. 

So today, instead of folding laundry and running errands, I decided not to do anything productive.  Instead, I binge watched some shows without multitasking, I napped with my family, I drank a cup of coffee in silence and most importantly, I went puddle jumping with Zoe.  I know that sounds like such a small thing and not really list worthy, but for me it is. 


I don’t know what it is about puddles that just begs every small child to come and jump in them and ruin their clothes.  And 99% of the time when Zoe wants to do it, I’m the mom saying no because we are running late to something, or she’s wearing new shoes or a million other reasons to be a killjoy.  But today was a 1% day.  Today was a chance to be care free, let a kid be a kid, and for just a moment, to pause time and forget being a grown up.  We splashed, we kicked, we ran, we laughed, and we got soaked.  So, in this crazy, hectic, busy, stressful time of the year, remember that it is ok to say forget it – let’s have a 1% day.  Pause time for a moment, and dance in the puddles.


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