The Question that Changed Saturday Mornings
It’s 6:30 on Saturday morning. My son is lounging with an iPad and eating his second granola bar. He has just one thing he needs to know that’s important enough to interrupt his video and call out to me in the next room:
“Is today my day off?”
A Very Wise 5-year-old
The first time he asked me that question a few months after Pre-K started, I paused – a little surprised by the question – and chuckled, as I said, “Yes, it is your day off.”
He skipped off in his pj’s back to the iPad … and that began a ritual in our family.
In the year of Covid – with worries of keeping grandma healthy, masks at school and lots of talk of The Big Germ – Saturday mornings became lazy, with low expectations and totally recharging for our minds and bodies.
Mother Fills “Heart Tank” by Pausing
A friend just shared this wonderful post from a mother who understood the value of pausing.
The whole world paused this morning. Do you know why? Because an 8 year old’s tank was empty. The boys had already started their school day at their desks and I was preparing to leave for work when I noticed my littlest standing in the bathroom wiping his face. I paused at the door and asked if he was okay. He looked up with tears silently dripping and shook his head. When I questioned if something happened, again he shook his head. So I sat on the side of the tub and pulled him in my lap. I told him sometimes our heart tanks feel empty and need to be refilled. He cried into my chest and I held tight. I asked if he could feel my love filling him up? A nod, and tears stopped... I waited a minute... ‘Has it reached your toes yet?’ He shook his head no... ‘Okay man. We will take as long as you need. Work doesn’t matter right now. School isn’t important either. This right here, is the most important thing today, okay? Filling you back to the top. Is that good?’ *nods* (Facebook Post excerpt from Misty Starr Whittington Robertson)
Pause and Pray Mantra for Better Decision Making
Pause and pray has been one of my mantras for a few years now. It stops anxiety, other people’s timelines and hasty decisions from ruling my world, and rests instead in a place where my mind is calm, open to faith not fear, and able to make a decision with a meditative frame of mind.
Julie Kelley/Founder Truly Jude
Covid forced us all to PAUSE more than a year ago. March 2020 marked a rare moment in time – as a collective world of humans, we instinctively got in touch with what was important – very quickly.
- A safe home where we wouldn’t get sick
- Teachers willing to jump into a whole new role to make sure kids had schooling
- A collective caring for our fellow and coming together
Remember those videos of Italians stuck in their apartment buildings singing each night?
That is the beauty of a PAUSE.
Getting Back to Normal May Not Be All Good
Many of us have said we want to take what felt good about that PAUSE and keep it as part of our lives as things “get back to normal”. I wonder if people will be wise enough to actually do it?
I can already hear the anxiety returning for friends who are back to running themselves, and their kids, full speed ahead.
It does feel funny to have a 5-year-old ask, “Is today my day off?” It’s become a family joke, like, as if we send him off to the coal mines all week.
Truly though, maybe my 5-year-old is wiser than many adults. He knows what his mind and body needs to recharge and he’s not afraid to ask for it.
So, we PAUSE on Saturday mornings and make sure our “heart tanks” (and mind and body tanks) have time to fill up again.
How Do You PAUSE?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Has COVID changed the way you pause? Do you have a ritual to recharge? Also, share this soulful space by signing up for emails when new things are posted.
Truly,
Julie
Your. Soulful. Space.