Month: September 2017

Last Friday I was in the mood for a heart-felt movie. Not really a romantic one but the kind that leaves you thinking or needing a box of Kleenex. As I looked at what was getting ready to come on I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I did a double take at the guide on my screen and pressed enter so I could watch “The Help”.

I only had a few minutes to get my pajamas on and a good snack. I flew around the house to get everything done so I could have a great Friday night at home nice and comfy. I had read the book and loved it but was hoping I wouldn’t be let down by the movie.

I was anything but let down, as I watched Aibileen ( the maid ) try to help the poor little toddler Mae Mobley  who is a hot mess and pushed aside by her mom. So in need of a kind gentle reminder that she mattered. Aibileen spoke such simple and to the point words of encouragement that she hoped would take root in her little heart. She said ” You is kind, You is Smart, You is important”.

I got a tear in my eye for all the Mae Mobley’s that are alive and need this reminder, myself included.

Sometimes I forget to see myself as kind, smart and important. I forget something so simple when I just get frustrated with myself. I really needed it put so simply to speak to my inner child that can be in need of a kind gentle reminder.

I wrote down that simple phrase on a card but didn’t stop there I went to my bathroom, grabbed my red lipstick I never wear but new it would come in handy and wrote it on my mirror as a reminder, Just in case I forget.

“Sometimes you will Never Know

the value of a moment

Until it becomes a memory.”

                                                                                        Dr. Seuss

I am one of those people who love a good quote. I have sticky notes and index cards all around my house to prove it but this quote I have written on a large piece of paper on my refrigerator at eye level to remind me to value each moment just in case I forget.

It seems to me the older I get the more this quote is so true. In my 20 and 30’s I was so busy doing life I would forget to enjoy small moments but looking back how I value them. This was driven home to me when I was talking to my daughter about dropping her son off at school. She was wanting to do the drop, hug and go home quick method because she has so much to do before going to work.

I remember that rush and not stopping to savor the moment that is now only a memory. I remember the quick hug, kiss and glance over my shoulder. The rushed mornings of getting sleepy little ones off.

I have the blessing of dropping my grandson off at kindergarten one day a week. I am able to see him run, swing and play with such enjoyment it brings a tear to my eyes. I can value each of those moments a little more than when I was younger. I can give my grandson the best gift a person can give and that is to be fully present with them.

To be fully present in the moment with each person even if those moments are the hard ones when all you can do is hold their hand, hear their cry or just be present and let them share the silence with you. Its sharing of the hard hurtful dark times that can bring the most valued memory.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20, MSG

“After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to brood over how long we might live.”