This coming Monday is Labor Day and we hope everyone can celebrate and enjoy! Sometimes this holiday feels more like New Year’s day for us. It is a time for transition but before those big changes, we rest from our labors and relax. How will you celebrate?
Sometimes when we think about the future, it can really keep us off-balance. Not always, just sometimes. We have written before about staying present and enjoying the moment. But there are times we need to look ahead and plan for the future. And there are times in our lives when we need to look back and appreciate how we’ve grown, savor memories or learn from mistakes. It’s a juggling act of sorts: taking life one day at a time while honoring your past and preparing for the future.
For us right now, we have children changing schools, family members changing jobs and one of us is thinking about moving. With these changes comes a fair amount of uncertainty about what the future holds and how our lives will be different. Change is difficult even when it is change for the better. When the tenuous feelings come, it helps us to remember to take it one day at a time. Planning for the future in all aspects of our lives can be difficult and sometimes we have to honor life’s fragility and spontaneity. Easy to say, hard to do…
Our kids are growing so fast and while we are in the thick of raising them, sometimes it’s easy to lose perspective of the time we have together at home while they are young. We realize that soon they will be old enough to fly the coop and begin their lives as adults. We love to say – the days are long but the years are short – this was especially true when they were infants! But now that they’re older, we try not to get caught up in the minutia of adolescence but rather enjoy their company and appreciate every moment. It’s a delicate balance – we are still imparting our wisdom and trying hard to raise good, honest, productive members of society. Teaching them life lessons and worrying about their education, health and happiness – it’s a lot of work! Spend some quality time with your kids. Have lunch together or play a game. Listen to what they have to say and appreciate them for who they are. They are our greatest gifts!
Are you watching every penny you spend? Counting every calorie of food you eat? Giving yourself restrictions about something all day long? Most people are on some sort of financial budget; we can’t spend money like we just won the lottery! And almost everyone we know (us included) watches what they eat. It is good to have limits and boundaries that keep us secure and healthy. Certainly if you have any type of addiction, total abstinence is the only way. But if that is not the case, every now and then it is ok, maybe even necessary, to indulge a little. If you always deprive yourself of buying that new outfit or having a piece of pie, there just may come a day when you can’t resist temptation and wind up eating the whole pie instead of having just a slice. If you are following whatever guidelines you have set for yourself, allow one day of the week to have that sweet treat or buy that bauble. Moderation is key here. Give it thought, don’t make a spontaneous purchase. Have your eye on something and really enjoy it. Sometimes going through life constantly depriving yourself can be draining and if you know that a special occasion is coming up, allow yourself to have that great dessert. That little reward can be very uplifting.
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