I'm in Minnesota right now and there's one thing I love about Minnesotans more than anything else: they love their summer. It's 8:30 at night on a Wednesday, and there is an outdoor church service with rock music (which was fabulous) and a free concert at the local park, and oodles of people out walking, biking and enjoying the evening. After a long winter, Minnesotans know how to savor their summer, and the energy is contagious.
We have been blessed with lots of grandparent support and help over the past six years. The past few days I've been watching Grandma Jan interact with the kids, and I'm so impressed by her enthusiasm and meeting the kids right at their level. She hasn't been home every minute that we've been visiting, but when she is home or with the kids she is fully engaged - playing card games, listening to stories, jumping in to help. She is operating fully "in the present" moment and the kids respond with glee.
One of the hard things about being a parent is being fully present in the day to day lives of our kids or families. We need to check email, do laundry, prepare meals and give the kids their due attention. It's hard to feel like I'm always where I'm needed to be when I'm doing too many things at once.
And I realized that one of the keys to being present is absence. The reason Minnesotans get wild about summer is that they miss it during the long winter, and they savor the summer when it comes. And grandparents aren't burned out by being with the kids all day - so when they get their moments to connect they take full advantage of them.
For me, I may need to create more moments of absence for myself - a couple of more hours with the babysitter so I can finish that project, or time away so I can meditate and regroup. Then when I do come back I won't feel quite as pulled in many directions - and I'll do my best to be present.
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