the Now and the Daily

Normally, I get moody when I wake up and the sky is the color of lead and huge rain drops are pounding against the window. But today I relished in an unexpected day of "rest". I didn't fully rest, because I am a stay-at-home mom of a wiggly 3 year old. But after 4 days of non-stop activity, it was nice to just be at home (literally).

I've also been meditating on a recent quote I read from Mitten Strings for God--Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry by Katrina Kenison (thanks Jen). Her first chapter is devoted to her friend who died from cancer. When Kenison was going through her papers, she found this quote among the unfinished manuscript of her friend's 2nd book:

“I have learned to quit speeding through life, always trying to do too many things too quickly, without taking the time to enjoy each day’s doings. I think I always thought of real living as being high. I don’t mean on drugs—I mean real living was falling in love, or when I got my first job, or when I was able to help somebody, or watch my baby get born, or have a good morning of really good writing. In between the highs I was impatient—you know how it is—life seemed so Daily. Now I love the dailiness. I enjoy washing dishes. I enjoy cooking, I see my father’s roses out the kitchen window, I like picking beans. I notice everything—birdsongs, the clouds, the sound of wind, the glory of sunshine after two weeks of rain. These things I took for granted before”.

Now, I haven't reached the enlightened stage of enjoying cooking or doing dishes, but I do want to cherish the Now and the Daily...and never, ever take anything for granted.