No time like the present.

If you follow my facebook page, then you know that my night last night was,

well,

not average.

But those kind of nights seem to be more and more the norm.

I know I have 7 kids to keep alive.

Which is more than most people.

But I think we are all in the same boat.

Rushing.

Forgetting.

And ultimately,

Missing.

Not missing the actual recital,

or the concert,

or the game.

But missing the point.

Missing the overall experience.

Last night was Number 5’s first dance recital.

She’s been talking about that recital ever since she saw Number 4 dance in hers.

Number 4 had her first recital 3 years ago.

Last night I found a picture from it.

Look how happy she was.

She was so happy, she was hugging herself.

Number 5 was only 11 months old at the time.

I remember thinking to myself,

I can’t imagine Number 5 being this old.

And then,

last night,

it happened.

Number 5 turned into Number 4.

And Number 4,

well,

she’s not so little anymore…

Lose to Win ended about 5 weeks ago.

There is a follow up program called Keep Winning that I signed up for.

It meets every Thursday morning; it’s like a Lose to Win light.

Yesterday we talked about mindful eating.

I was talking with a couple other moms.

And one of them said,

“I’m not even thinking about mindful eating.

My main goal right now is mindful parenting.”

Huh.

I started thinking.

And you know what I really do mindfully?

Absolutely nothing.

Life is passing me by.

My children’s lives are passing me by.

I’m hardly enjoying any of it.

I’m just,

strategizing.

And I’m not even doing that very well.

I am not in the moment for anything I’m doing.

When I’m writing my blog, I’m also checking emails.

And facebook.

When I’m doing P90X in the mornings, I picking up toys in between sets.

When my kids are telling me stories, I’m nodding my head and saying “Uh-huh,” but I’m not actually listening to a single word they are saying.

When I’m at a baseball game, I’m checking emails and ordering  pizza for dinner.

And missing Number 3 hit a double.

I’m not actually present for anything.

And all this “multi-tasking” is getting me nowhere.

I’m still spinning my wheels.

It’s time to make a change.

I’m starting small.

15 minutes.

Back to the mindfulness thing.

According to a handout I got yesterday,

the Principles of Mindfulness include:

• deliberately paying attention, non judgementally

and

• being aware of what is present for you mentally, emotionally, and physically in each moment

For 15 minutes every day, I’m going to do something mindfully.

It may not neccessarily be with one of the kids.

Or any of the kids.

It may be eating a meal.

Or working out.

I don’t know.

But for 15 minutes, I am going to really experience something.

Every day.

Because you know what?

Cool College Babysitter came to the recital last night.

Here she is.

She gradated from college last weekend.

I bet you her mom couldn’t imagine that day coming and going.

I bet she still thinks of her like this:

Yeah.

I gotta go.

As much as I’d like them to,

my kids aren’t going to wait around for me.

They’re just gonna keep on growing.

PLEASE TAKE ONE SECOND TO VOTE FOR ME!!!