I read this blog post on the Huffington post a while ago, and I realized that I, too, am experiencing the sweet spot with my children- actually with a lot of my life right now. The author talks about being at the community pool with her kids, ages 4, 8 and 10, and realizing that she actually was able to carry on a semi-complete conversation with her friends at the pool, to read more than one sentence of her book, and not have to stop and yell at gently remind one of her kids about not drinking the pool water and keeping their hands to themselves.
It’s cool that I realized that my kids and I are in a similar sweet spot, because I often don’t appreciate the significance of moments when they are happening. For example, pretty much my whole wedding day is a blur (which I’m told is quite common), and similarly, while there are parts of the days each of the hobbits were born that stand out in my mind like the starkest memory, there are long stretches of hours during the labor process that I don’t recall with any huge sense of significance.
I have become more nostalgic as I’ve gotten older. I put an old picture up on Facebook the other day and could hardly believe it had been taken over 10 years –and around 5 hairstyles- ago. I’m trying hard to pay attention, to be all in, as I continue to listen to God during this season.
Brene Brown talks about the concept of “Foreboding Joy,” — meaning that feeling you get when everything is going well, and suddenly you realize it. Then you immediately start to fear that something will go wrong, and that fear taints and contaminates the peace and contentment of the current moment.
Foreboding Joy is totally my jam these days.
Especially since those two losers friends are still praying for me every day, for one more month.
I don’t know if their prayers have anything to do with me feeling especially aware of what a sweet spot I am in these days.
I do know that I have much to be grateful for, that I am blessed beyond measure and that God is good all the time.
Today, that is enough.
What’s your sweet spot?
Are you leading the life you want?