Today was just an ordinary Saturday.  I had no scheduled plans.  A bit unusual for me considering I have 3 girls knee deep in sports.  My husband had left for his annual Del Mar trip to the horse races in San Diego with his friends.  It was just my girls and I together for the whole day and night without dad.  The girls have been back in school for two weeks.  It seems like it was months ago that I had spent time alone with them.  So, what was I to do with my girls?  Brianna, suggested we go shopping for her desk.  We promised to buy her a new desk for her birthday and just had not found one she liked yet.  It had been a few months since we had looked.  So, Brianna got her wish.  Before we stopped at the furniture store I decided to take my girls to a mall we had not visited in a while.  They added shops and restaurants since the last time we had been there.  I thought it would be nice to go have lunch and see the new stores before heading to shop for her desk.

I was enjoying every minute of it

New places always seem to spark our senses.  We picked a place to eat where we could sit outside and enjoy the afternoon breezes of southern california.  It was a great sunny day.  The girls and I sat under an umbrella and ate some tasty food.  I thought to myself, how wonderful this is to just enjoy this moment with my children.  I was completely present with them and they with me.  I was enjoying every minute of it and was thanking God in my thoughts for giving me the ability to recognize the beauty of being present.  There was almost a sense of calmness to my being present.  I listened more intently to my children as they spoke.  I looked at their eyes instead of my phone.  I shared in the moment with them.   I can’t say it was easy.  Reaching for my phone even when it’s not ringing or chiming has become a bad habit of mine and for a moment my thoughts went to reaching for my phone.  Thankfully, I was able to recognize that this bad habit should not trump being present with my children or with anyone for that matter when sharing conversation with the ones you love.  Being “present” was just that… a gift.  Something I gave to my children and they gave to me.  It was wonderful.

Thank you, God, for this day.