It’s funny what life lessons occur during playtime with your kids. My son is an early riser. I get up early myself, but my husband does not. Recently, for whatever reason, my husband got up earlier than normal and was able to play a little bit before heading to work. This was beyond exciting for our little guy—he is a pretty joyful boy in general but having daddy for some morning routine time had him over the moon. He asked if we could play a round of “Uno Jr.” (our latest family favorite) and we said, why not? The problem was that he didn't want it to end. It was extra special to have Daddy playing before work. He was so distraught about the thought of my husband leaving for work that he was missing the opportunity to play while he was still home. Instead of enjoying the time we had together and playing, he spent most of it asking him not to go. He told him with tears in his eyes that he didn’t want him to leave. This in turn makes my husband feel terrible because he doesn’t want to have to go either. At one point we told him he was wasting the time we had together.  That’s a hard concept to understand for a 4-year-old. Wasting time? What does that mean? However—it got me thinking about wasting time in our own adult lives.

How much time do we waste during the good moments? Those quality moments that we could share together with uninterrupted time. For me, my phone is my biggest time waster. I will think of something I want or need to look at and then find myself scrolling through my Instagram or Facebook feeds. I hate that activity sign-ups, recipes, family photos, and business items are all on my phone. It is difficult to detach from it. But, when I really stop and think about it, what is so important on that device that can’t wait? If I find myself on my phone and my son asks me to play another round of cards or my daughter asks me to hold her and read stories…, why would I not drop everything to be engaged with my children? I’m writing this as a reminder to you and myself to remain present. I leave my phone in a different room because if it’s by me, it is a habit to glance at it for no reason. Turn your notifications off. Try to create a system and a habit that releases you from being glued to it.

Phones aren’t the only things distracting us. What about our thoughts? Are you wasting time worrying about things that are out of your control? Are you constantly watching the news and being weighed down by the anxiety of it all? Would it kill you to turn it off? Consume a little bit less of the negativity. Or maybe you are constantly thinking about things in the future or stuck in the past. Our thoughts can be just as distracting as a tangible time-suck. I’d like to challenge us all to think in terms of the here and now. There is a song that I recently heard, and it’s possible it’s an old one and I’m just late to the game, but I loved the lyrics. The song is called Enjoy Every Second by Michael Franti and Spearhead:

“This one’s dedicated to everybody out there

Living life in the present moment…

You’ve got to enjoy every second.

‘Cause when it’s gone, it’s gone away…

I’m always singing in the shower

And I stop to smell the flowers…”

It’s a simple song, but no matter how self-explanatory the words or how quickly time seems to pass, we all think we are invincible in some way. We think that there is always tomorrow, but we aren’t guaranteed those tomorrows. We get so caught up in the day-to-day “busyness” of it all that we forget to “sing in the shower” or “stop to smell the flowers.” As we gear up for the holidays, can we all take a moment to remember that the greatest gift is time? The time we share with our family and friends is what makes life worth living. Let’s make a conscious effort to put our phones away, rein in our thoughts, and simply enjoy every second.

Have a wonderful weekend and happy reading.