The Next Big Thing

Have you ever found yourself thinking that your life is going pretty good but will be better when X happens? And if so, what is the X? Is it a raise? A new baby? The prospect of paying off a debt? Losing weight? Why does it always seem as though there is some elusive bigger and better out there that distracts us from enjoying who we are and where we are at in life?

I have been mulling over this idea for a few weeks. Let me tell you how it all started. I set out to enjoy the summer with my kids. I made lots of fun plans to enjoy swimming and playing, not to mention all 3 of their birthday parties. About a month ago I went into Hobby Lobby to buy some ribbon for Avery's birthday invitations. All 3 kids were with me and when I noticed that there were some fall decorations already out, I suggested we walk down those aisles to take a look -- a little distraction from summer. It was then I noticed that there were already at least 10 aisles devoted to Christmas decorations. It was mid-July for crying out loud!

The other thing that got me going was a conversation with Avery about what activity she might like to participate in for the upcoming school year. Did she want to take a dance class? Play soccer? Her response was that she wanted to play basketball. So, I got online to do a bit of research and found that that sign ups were already open for the fall season (again it's mid-July). I also decided to do a bit of research on the dance class that I really wanted her to take and found that the classes start on August 17.

Now, how am I supposed to enjoy the summer with my kids when the last half of the summer apparently needs to be devoted to preparations for fall? Everywhere I turn there are school supplies out, sales on jeans (it's still 100 degrees out) and fall sports starting! How can I think about going to the pool when the commercial world is telling me that I need to be planning and purchasing my Christmas decorations a full 4 months in advance?

But the sad truth is that we don't even need the commercial world to tell us that we can't be satisfied with the present. We can do it all on our own. We (and when I say "we" I mean "me") can get so hung up on whatever we think we are lacking that it spoils everything else. Do I really want to look back on my summer and see that I wasted half of it because I was so looking forward to school starting back and daydreaming about how the house will look with all of the Christmas decorations out? I am making a conscious decision to enjoy the rest of our summer, and be happy in the present. I am tossing out the idea of X and hope you will do the same!