What is it that makes you stop?

The love life coffee mug looks a little worn. The words are hard to read and the color is gone, but until I find another, I will keep it in the front of the cupboard. It is my favorite and goes well with morning and the simple pleasure of coffee. Today there would be less lingering. The calendar updated to reflect Dr. appointments, car maintenance, and a boat transport. It would all get done, but I was already looking forward to the 4PM coffee to complete the day.

I smiled when a text message lit up the phone. My daughter knows I am up. The message said:  I woke up early and saw my son looking outside. When I asked what he was doing, he said: “Just watching the sun wake up mommy”. 

Stop.

Is there anything more important then that simple moment in time? He is 5 and I pictured him with his elbows on the windowsill, waiting, watching and figuring out what makes this world work. I took my coffee outside to see what he might be looking at, even though he is 1000 miles away, and I pretend his love of nature comes from me. I pulled my hair through a rubber band and went for a walk to watch the sun wake up with him.

Enjoy the little things in life for one day you will look back and realize they were the big things. – Kurt Vonnegut

Forty minutes later, another text. I smile thinking it was most likely a cute antic from their morning routine, with their new puppy added to the mix. She usually calls once the kindergarten/preschool drop happens, and today she would be driving to the airport for business travel. I love these days to catch up on her trip’s itinerary, career milestones, and family adventures. I have great admiration for young families these days. It is a different life from mine,   and organization is critical for that work/family balance. I was looking forward to listening to life according to her today. Instead the text said: Mom I have been in a car accident…

Stop.

…the SUV is totaled. Ambulance, fire and police are here. There are burns, but I am OK. She was OK if the first responders were there, she was OK if she was texting.  She was OK!  This time stop looked different. Everything stopped, including my heart. A few minutes later the sobbing found its way to the other end of the phone along with, what if the kids…, and what if I was in the small car…, and what if…

Stop.

The tears meant she was still…OK.

With every rising of the sun, think of your life as Just begun. – Ella Wheeler

I think of Texas and the lives that have stopped for longer then today and yet there is hope as I learned of new babies born during this time. I am enamored by the resilience and spark of the human spirit as the sun begins to dry the day.  There is faith in mankind as we watch 100’s of people become first responders, and 1000’s offer to volunteer anywhere they can.  I am humbled by this amazing country we all call home.

So…what is it again that makes you stop?

It’s always about the gift of time…isn’t it?

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