Stress… they always say it’s like a pressure cooker. I used a pressure cooker for the first time yesterday. When it was done, I flipped the little pressure thing, and all the pressure fizzled out.
Yeah, if I could do that to my brain some days, it’d be amazing.
Heard around the house:
My son: “I’m so excited ’cause we’re going to play all day!”
Me: “Well, it’s really a learning thing… more like school than playing all day.”
My son: “Yeah, but school is like playing.”
Good.
I ended my day today watching fireworks over our hill. It was a very good day. As we turned to walk back in the house, my son slumped his shoulders, as though if we had only stayed out on the deck for a few more minutes, we might have seen something amazing.
Like a father, I said, “Son, you can choose to mourn the things you imagine you might have had, or to rejoice in the good things you DID have. But you have to choose.”
God says that to me a lot lately.
Celebration – From a Child
In brief:
My son has been waiting for certain days (like today) for a while. Like many children, he has a hard time keeping dates in perspective, so this morning he wasn’t aware that it was a holiday, even though he’s been excited about it for a few weeks.
When he was reminded, he danced around the room, played air guitar, and cheered.
Kids don’t struggle to celebrate. They just do. It’s pretty awesome to watch.
Work Begets Work
If I’m not careful, I’ll start to sound like one of those productivity bloggers. That’s not among my goals in life.
My wife, Rebecca, pointed out an important life lesson from our kids. It started out when we were at a low point for sleep in our toddler’s life. Rebecca let Grace take a long nap one day. Like, scary long. And I was afraid. “Honey, do you think it’s wise to let her sleep so long during the day? I mean, are we going to wind up regretting it in a few hours?”
And Rebecca said these fateful words: “I don’t know. I think, sometimes, sleep begets sleep.” We started to pay attention, and it certainly seems to be true in our kids lives.
I’m seeing a similar principle at work as I am reordering things and working on focus. Completed work begets more completed work. Delivery begets delivery.
The more I accomplish my goals, the more likely I am to continue to accomplish my goals.
Work begets work.