Welcome to The Pause, dear friend. Come on in and make yourself comfortable.
I’ve loved May. I’ve loved the change it brought me internally. I’ve loved the perspective it provided me. I am so beyond grateful for what these thirty-one days have done and been for me. I can only hope wherever I’m finding you you’re feeling some of the same.
Today I’d love for us to take a moment to recognize the fleeting rituals in our lives.
Settle in, take a deep breath, and get ready to pause in 3…2…1…
Chase Me to the Tree
Whenever it’s a day my daughter is in school, I greet her in the afternoon. The door to school opens. She smiles. I smile. I catch her Minnie jacket as she enthusiastically shoves it into my hand and watch as she takes off down the path from her school to the sidewalk—her little legs doing their best to keep up with the excitement of her body—all while hearing her scream through giggles, “Chase me to the tree, Mommy!”
On the way down, I do my best impersonation of someone running while still managing to find a way to walk for my creaky knees. She asks me to chase her with my best, “ROOOOAAAAARRR!!!” I abide. When I catch her we play red light, green light. We stop to pick flowers in the grass. And, eventually, we make it to the tree.
Our post-school trek to the tree takes anywhere from four to ten minutes—less than 1% of my day—and still, there are days I protest going. I’m tired. I have to get back home to cook dinner. The fog is freezing and I’m pissed off about the condensation on my glasses in SF spring. You know, the usual quips and qualms that arise when feeling stuck in the monotony of mundane days.
However, there is an acute prick in my soul warning me to wake up even when my perspective is jaded and lost to the presence-sucking to-do’s of today and tomorrow. A calling to let the magic of this daily ritual wash over and intoxicate me because it’s only a matter of time before she’ll move on from wanting me to chase her to the tree. It’s only a matter of time before I’ll be yearning for a chance to chase her to the tree one more time.
It’s a moment ripe with the slow drip of sweet, brutiful, bittersweet achy recognition that we’re all getting older. None of this is permanent. All there is is now.
Out of love and respect, let’s pause and give these fleeting rituals in our lives the gratitude they deserve. Let’s notice them, appreciate them, and savor in them for as long as they’ll have us. Let’s respect how these rituals anchor us and set us free without ever asking for much more than presence in return. We are blessed to experience them. We are lucky to live in them.
⏸ Pause
Think about something a ritual you do or experience often that you know won’t be forever.
What do you love about this ritual?
What do you appreciate about this ritual? How does it make you better or enhance your life?
What will you miss about this ritual when it’s gone?
I love y’all. Thank you for this space and this moment.
See you at the tree. 🖤
~ L