Making it Count

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It's been

nine months, 18 days

{41 weeks}

 {292 days}

 {7008 hours}

 {420,480 minutes}

since I first penned

New Year's resolutions

for 2011.

Christmas is already

seeping into our collective

consciousness through retailers,

magazines and the internet, so

it wasn't a big leap for me

to think just beyond it

to our next new year.

2012.

It's coming fast.

I've decided it is time to

take stock of the goals

that I set out, here,

before the rest of the

year slips through my

fingers like fine sand.

There were only six.

Sounds simple enough

to attain, don't you think?

Ah, but sometimes

it can be hard

to get simple

just

right.

Here is my list.

1.  Make every moment count.

I can't say that I have made

every 25,228,800 seconds

that comprised 2011 so far,

count.  But I have tried to

focus more on being in each

moment instead of constantly

thinking ahead to the

next day

next week

next month

next year.

And I believe that counts

for something!

2.  Really SEE my children.

{Some days my son jumps down

the stairs in the morning and I

swear he has grown overnight....

How did I not SEE that?}

I have practiced this

deliberate observation
 repeatedly in 2011.

What?

they often say to me as I

try to absorb their earnest

faces, filing away the dark

brown eyes of one and the

creamy complexion of the other.

Just looking,

I say with a smile, 

knowing they won't really

understand until they have
become parents, themselves.

3.  Remember to breathe.

Look around.  Just BE

from time to time.

This is the hardest one.

I feel that clock ticking 

~ tick tick tick ~

constantly and the 

stopping and breathing

and being

has got to be a

mindful choice.

But I have chosen it

more in 2011 than

in past years.

My favorite time to

just be

is when I take Gracie out.

It is dark now for her first

and last pit stops of the day,

which gives me two chances

to take in the vastness of the

sky, the moon and the 
winking stars.

I breathe in that brisk fall air
 and for a few moments ~

moments that count ~

I am simply present in

this life and nothing more.

4.  Pray more

Just like being truly present 
 in the moment, prayer takes

practice.  Similarly, it brings me
 peace.  I try to incorporate

prayer into my daily tasks.  It

almost becomes a sort of

meditation when I am

showering
brushing my teeth
brushing the dog

folding laundry

cooking

driving

and all sorts of other chores

that occupy my hands but

leave {most} of my mind

free for gratitude, praise and

hopes for those I love.

I will always be a student

when it comes to prayer,

but one who is eager to

keep practicing.

5.  Laugh more!

I suspect that my family 

would grade me favorably on

this resolution.  We have always

enjoyed a BIG laugh, but this 

year I've tried to let humor 

guide me out of a lot of different
 situations, which definitely 

led to more laughs within
 these walls.

And it has felt good.

Really, really good.

6.  Focus on gratitude.

I used to keep a gratitude

journal when my kids were 

quite little, but I lost the habit

somewhere in the chaos that

comes with raising a family.

This year I resurrected that

old journal and recently 

purchased a new one for the

whole family to start jotting

down small blessings
that speak to us.

We keep it open, pen ready,

in the kitchen, so many of

the entries seem to be

food-related!

But it's all gratitude,

just the same.

For me, it keeps

everything,

every

little

thing

in perspective.

Which makes life

feel like a wonderful,

magical, extraordinary

celebration.

And in the end,

isn't that where we

want our resolutions

to lead us?

If you made resolutions

for 2011, how have you

done, so far?

Is your third quarter

grade one that pleases

you, or is it an 

incomplete?

There are still

two months, 14 days

{75 days}

{10 weeks}

{1800 hours}

{108,000 minutes}

to take each of the

6,480,000 seconds
left of 2011

and make them

count

for you.


Go for it.

xx

Suzanne

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Posted in breathe , gratitude , laughter , mindful , prayer , resolutions , time