I’ve been up for … awhile. It’s now breakfast time.
I’ve checked all of Facebook, the news, and sent work emails. Learned a new recipe. Watched an incredible video of someone making art.
I’ve showered. Felt guilty about not meditating. Brushed my hair. Thanked my husband for making me coffee as he runs out the door to get to work.
I’ve fed the cat. Fed the kid. Took out the garbage. Brought in the recycling cans. Sanitized the recycling cans. Washed my hands again.
Brought laundry downstairs. Started load of laundry. Brought load upstairs. Got clothes for the child. Got our activities for another day with him at home and me working from home.
Walked over the miniatures on the floor, as I have been explicitly instructed to not “mess them all up again!”
Got the child’s breakfast together. Explained about expiration dates. Had a conversation about Cheerios versus Rice Krispies in milk. Went downstairs to get a laptop. Forgot the charger. Decided to risk it and just start working.
“Mom, this spoon makes me upside down.”
*I take deep breath*
I say to the child, “Do you need another spoon? Did it make a mess.” I think, I need to get a napkin. Oh man, I hope there is a clean towel around here somewhere. Didn’t I just do the laundry?
I get up to replace the spoon and find something with absorbancy for the spilled milk and cheerios on the floor.
“No, mom. Listen.”
*Stopped short* Did my kid just tell me to listen?
Crap. I haven’t been listening.
*Deep breath*
“Ok buddy, what’s going on?”
He then proceeds to show me this magical thing! When you look in the back of the spoon, you are upside down. When you look in the front of the spoon, you are right side up.
“Mom, why is this happening?!?!” He is so excited.
I stop. I smile. I say, “I have no idea why it is happening, but it sure seems magical. We’ll have to look up the reason later.”
And then we spend time just looking at each other in the spoon. At ourselves in the spoon. We wonder if the cat is also upside down in the spoon, but she doesn’t want to play along.
I start to think of all the things we can look at in the spoon together.
But he is done.
He saw this thing. He said what he wanted. He showed me. I actually slowed down. It really was a magical moment for me.
Now he is off playing, not eating the breakfast. The spoon is back in the bowl, ready for it’s next job. Today it delighted us both.
I’m really glad I didn’t miss it.
These moments come so fast. They go by so fast.
I get so stuck in the mundane, the everything. The, “it has to get done.” And I almost missed this wonderful moment.
I’ve missed others before. And that is ok. More come along.
I don’t write this to guilt myself about the ones I have missed or the ones I will miss going forward. No.
I write this to celebrate that I got one today. I got one!
I celebrate that I slowed down. That I didn’t miss a thing. That we got to share something together. That we had a wonderful moment.
He may not remember this moment. But every time I slow down to look at a spoon now, I’m sure the spoon will make me upside down too.
I hope you have an upside down moment today too.