About a year ago, my husband and I moved out of our cute little town house into my parents basement apartment. It wasn't all the way finished so we had to park ourselves in a tiny bedroom until it was. We lived in this room for 2 months (1 of those months with our twin babies). To say it was crowded was an understatement! We had a california king sized mattress on the floor that literally took up the entire room. So much in fact, that the door couldn't open all the way. All four of us slept on this mattress. We had no where to put anything and we had to make bottles down the hall in the bathroom.
While I was pregnant, I got the advice of "Enjoy every minute with them, they grow up way to fast!" almost every single day. So while living in this tiny space for their first month of life, I really took this advice in and enjoyed it the best I could. Sure, I had moments where I wanted to pull my hair out but for the most part, I really took every minute in with them and enjoyed our cozy little house. My husband could not WAIT to get out of there. Every single day he would go in the unfinished apartment and work for hours just so we could move in quicker. He said several times a day "I will be SOOO happy once that room is finished!" I remember telling him "One day, you're going to look back and miss living in here." He laughed at me.
A few nights ago we were laying in bed talking about this past year and guess what he said? "I miss living in that room with you!" Words he once laughed at me for saying. I reminded him of how much he hated it in there but for some reason, he couldn't remember it being miserable!
I tell this story for an example of us "looking at the past better then it was."
It seems we're never happy with our current circumstances. We'll be happy once we move in to a bigger house or get a newer car or once we have kids or when I get married. But chances are if you cant be happy now, once you've attained everything you've been wishing for it wont be enough and you'll be looking to the future once more.
Now we're on to the present. The time we tend to take for granted when its the time we should cherish the most! Do you remember maybe a few months ago excited for the time it is now? Maybe you had a goal that you planned on being accomplished by now. Have you accomplished it? Or did you spend your time still dreaming for the future? It's funny how that happens sometimes. We get to that particular day and for example, look in the mirror with out accomplishing much of anything those past months. What if you instead lived each day fully working towards your goal and today you got to reap the benefits? We as humans tend to dwell in the past and dream for the future but forget we can live for today! The only day you have is today so do something that will make you proud tomorrow!
If you're not living fully today guess what? Your future is wont be any different then today is. And if you don't like the way things are today then you've got to change them TODAY! Don't ever wait to accomplish your goals! While its important to have dreams and make goals don't ever forget the only time accomplish anything is right now!
Ways to live in the moment
Cherish the small things- I haven't slept a straight night in 10 months and if you know me, you know how much I need sleep! There are moments I want to just stick my babies in another room and let them cry so I can get some sleep. But the past month or two i've tried to enjoy these late night feeding sessions because I know they wont last forever. I hold one of my little loves in my arms, give him his bottle and rock him back and forth. I study his little features; his hand wrapped around my finger, his eyes looking into mine. I usually get teary eyed because I know this little human who needs me and cries for me wont always need his mommy. It would be a shame to waste these moments being angry because you're tired.
Don't try to take on too much at one time- I'm the biggest mulit-tasker and tend to take more on my plate then I should. This causes me to not give my 100% to my tasks and give about 20% to each. If you're anything like me, try to spread things out over the course of a few days instead of giving yourself one day! You'll enjoy it a lot more and you'll have enough time in the day to spend with the people who matter most to you- family!
Don't spend your time worrying- If you're worrying about something in the past, stop! It's not going to change the outcome. If you're worrying about the future, you're wasting your time. We tend to predict whats going to happen and often times it causes anxiety. Anxiety over something that hasn't happened and probably wont happen!
Forgive the past- I’ve been through some "not so great" times in my life and no matter how long ago these past hurts occurred, I will catch myself thinking about it as if it is happening to me now. Sometimes memories are so vivid and real. By failing to forgive things that have happened in my past, I fail to move forward and to be present in the moment. Forgiveness is a personal choice, but when I chose to forgive the past, I feel more free.
