My Ordinary, Extraordinary Life
noticing all the love
I have a deep fear of feeling like my life is flying by and I’m not present for it.
Not in a “post everything on Instagram” sort of way. More like, what if I die early and didn’t savor the time I had here?
If you haven’t seen it yet, please schedule a time to watch the movie About Time in the near future. It is a completely underrated, gorgeous movie about the beauty in our ordinary lives.
A quote at the end has stuck with me for over a decade. “I just try to live every day as if I've deliberately come back to this one day, to enjoy it, as if it was the full final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life.”
It’s the ordinary moments that fill our days that make up our life. Our one, precious, not-sure-how-much-time-we-have-left life.
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My oldest son Judah jumping out of bed as I tuck him in at night to go give his little brother a hug.
My husband Charlie reaching across the table to hold my hand over our morning coffee, our eyes meeting for a few minutes before the busy day.
My youngest son Shep holding my face in his hands at night and saying, “You’re da best best best.”
Hearing my mom’s voice on the phone and feeling a settling in my heart, knowing all will be alright.
Falling asleep holding Charlie’s hand after a long day, and some long conversations.
Hearing the pitter patter of little feet racing down the stairs to find me in the basement, during my early morning workout. Bleary eyes and pajama-clad boys peer around the corner asking, “Can we wake up and play down here?” They settle onto the carpet next to me while I sweat my a** off and I hear their little voices reading to each other, pointing out who’s who in the books they are paging through. Shep looks at Judah and says, “Judah, you ah da best bid bruddah I evah had.”
Hearing the voices of my nieces and sister over the phone, as they now live states away. Cherishing their sweetness and missing them terribly. Getting a text from my older sister asking if we can plan a sister’s night soon.
The subtle smile on my husband’s face as we meet in our room, close (and lock) the door, and meet to be together (IYKYK).
Catching the sunrise in the early hours as I wake up to read, pray and write. I watch it peek through our back doors over the fence, and see God’s hands painting it, shaping it for us.
Greeting Judah at the end of the day at school pickup, saying hi to his friends and their parents, and seeing him run in the field outside the school with some buddies while Shep tags along as the caboose. Their jackets are flying in the wind, they can see their breath, yet they are undeterred and not slowed down in the least bit. Cold weather be damned, these kids want to play outside at the end of the day, and I love it.
Taking a few minutes before and after nap and before bed, to “cozy” Shep. He lays on my chest, sucks his thumb (still!), and twirls my hair with his free hand.
Catching up via marco polo with my college bestie, swapping everything from our deepest fears and prayer requests to what we’re making for dinner this week and how I (never her) butchered a recipe recently.
Hearing all 3 of my boys (husband included) whoop and holler during nightly wrestles upstairs. Charlie jokingly threatens, “I’m gonna tickle you till you pee!” Judah responds with, “Well then I’ll pull your ears off!” and Shep is just full-out yelling a war cry like a mini William Wallace and throwing himself on top of the pile.
Crying in the car while I miss my Dad. I’m unsure of what triggered it at this moment, but I feel the weight of his loss and let myself sit in it for a minute. I give his life the honor it deserves by giving my grief space to show up.
My life is not flashy or famous, not extraordinary in the eyes of many. But I notice all the ordinary moments that make up these days, and I cherish them.
Love is noticing–the good, the beautiful, the hard, the painful.
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This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Love."