Different Priorities

Yesterday afternoon, as Chris and I raked the leaves in our front yard with precision accuracy (not), we somehow got on the topic of my Dad.  He has always been a really hard worker, both at "work" and at home, and out of nowhere Chris asked, "Do you think your Dad knows how lazy I am?"  Ha!  I let out a very surprised laugh, followed by, "probably not."  And with the very next sentence, he unintentionally changed my perspective. "It's actually not that I am lazy, I just have different priorities."

{ photo from last Fall. }

At first, I thought, yeah that's what you say to yourself so you don't feel guilty about your laziness. But almost immediately following that thought, I realized he was right.  About both of us.  We value getting out and exploring, and making the most out of our lives, way more than we value a perfectly clean and organized house.  Who cares that we are three weeks late with raking up the mounds of leaves in our front yard (ahem, not to mention our overflowing laundry basket)?  In those three weeks, we have escaped to the tallest incorporated city in the states to see the changing of the leaves, we have had friends over for dinner, gone for long walks, traveled to a dear cousin's wedding out of state, explored Seattle, and snuggled up to watch movies together on the sofa.  And if I had it to do all over again?  I would leave those leaves sitting on our front lawn.  Because those three weeks sound perfect to me.

Different priorities.  I'm going to hang on to that one.

Meditation Download

Success!  We went to the meditation course last night and I got exactly the result I was hoping for!  

During our first foray into meditation, our instructor told us one of life's lessons: "expectations reduce the joy in life."  So with that sentiment, I went into it with an open mind, knowing that whatever happened, I just wanted to feel better afterwards.  And I am happy to report that I did!  I still do!

This particular course is only $5 and starts with a 20-25 minute "lesson" on meditation, followed by a 30 minute guided meditation.  Last night's talk focused on how well-known Colorado is for being one of the healthiest states.  Physically.  But that we don't always do the necessary "exercises" for our mind.  Insert meditation.  We focused on the importance of being able to control our minds when toxic or negative thoughts threaten to take over.  Sounds so simple, but in all honesty, I think we allow these types of take-overs more often than we may realize.

Our instructor gave a very simple example, and again, it sounds so obvious.  Yet, I have found myself in this situation more than I care to admit.  Say your car breaks down on the side of the road.  You have a problem.  If you allow this inconvenience to take over your mind, you now have two problems.  And the one you added to the mix does nothing to help you.  

These are welcome challenges for me.  As I have mentioned before, Chris is so much better at this than I am. The first time we traveled together, I remember getting in late to our destination after missing our first flight. Chris called the rental car company from the terminal to figure out how to get to the rental pick-up.  He was so polite and nice to the person on the other end, thanking them for their help before hanging up.  I looked to him for direction, asking which way we needed to go.  His response?  "They're closed. We can't get a car." You never would have been able to guess that this was the answer he was given on the phone, because he was still so positive and happy.  

This continues to be a lesson for me, one that I call on quite often.  It is easy to let things bring us down, but how much better will we feel if we roll with the punches and laugh our way through it?  I have some really good friends who are pros at this.  My hope is that I can continue to learn from their example.

I left last night's class feeling more calm than I had in recent memory.  Peaceful, really.  It was a welcome surprise for me, and I hope I can continue to make this a priority in my life.

Well, another thing checked off my Summer Bucket List!  Feeling energized and motivated to continue my journey of self-growth.

Reason 3,763,089 That I Love My Husband

I must admit, yesterday was a bit of a long day, and despite my best efforts to turn the beat around, I had a few more unfortunate setbacks (and tears).  But the best lesson that could have come out of yesterday's post came from my husband.

Not only had I booked a return flight for September (instead of July!), but it also cost us $200 to make the change in his ticket that would allow him to fly home last night.  $200, I might add, that we don't exactly have at the moment.  It also meant that he would have to kill 10 hours of his day which would now include a long layover at Washington Dulles airport.  So I sent him a few dramatic apology text messages apologizing and inquiring about what his options were.

Imagine my surprise when my 'make-lemonade-out-of-lemons' husband had already figured out his tour of DC by the time I had finished my morning coffee, and he seemed genuinely glad to check both Virginia and DC off his "states (and districts!) I have visited"  list. 

Wow, lesson learned.  Here is a guy who knows how to dance in the rain.  The funny thing?  If I were to tell Chris this, I already know what his answer would be.  

"It isn't easy... I have to work at it, too."  (in his best Mr. Rogers, lesson-of-the-day voice, of course.)

How do I know that this would be his response, you ask?  Because anytime I give him a compliment on how good he is at things, or how well he handles situations, his humility gets in the way of him being able to just accept the compliment.  

And while I may tease him about this, it is also one of the reasons (reason 3,763,089 to be exact) that I married him.  

The unexpected reward Chris received for his positive attitude?  He got to tour around this bad boy for the afternoon.

{ that's right, the space shuttle Discovery. }

I am chalking this all up to another one of life's lessons.  Here's hoping I, too, can learn to dance in the rain, no matter how gray the clouds might get...

{ stay tuned for a Philly post... }