“And so taking the long way home through the market I slow my pace down. It doesn’t come naturally. My legs are programmed to trot briskly and my arms to pump up and down like pistons, but I force myself to stroll past the stalls and pavement cafes. To enjoy just being somewhere, rather than rushing from somewhere, to somewhere. Inhaling deep lungfuls of air, instead of my usual shallow breaths. I take a moment to just stop and look around me. And smile to myself.
For the first time in a long time, I can, quite literally, smell the coffee.”– Alexandra Potter, “The Two Lives of Miss Charlotte Merryweather”
My family loves to watch “Modern Family” together. My boys tease that I’m just like Claire Dunphy – the organized, overbearing, over-scheduled perfectionist. Tonight, we saw an episode in which a number of the characters were driving together and almost hit a truck. They all experienced varying levels of fear and clarity that life is so tenuous.
Luke decided to pull out his “bucket list” and check off every item, Claire became incredibly aware of how scheduled her life had become, Haley and Alex spent some quality time together. It got me thinking about the things I plan to do “when there’s time.” I run a pretty tight ship and rarely do things that aren’t on my list or calendar happen. I have this theory that people who don’t plan also don’t get anything done.
I actually schedule “R&R” days on my calendar (yes, I even schedule those). This is a day that everyone in my household (including myself) can do whatever we want – no questions asked. Maybe we all (especially the Claire’s) need more of those kinds of days and less of the ones with items to check off.