Watch the Bloom

http://www.flickr.com/, photo by iiMull

Spring weather has definitely come to middle Tennessee. The trees have been absolutely gorgeous! My kids have been eagerly pointing out all of the vibrant yellows, whites, pinks, lavenders, and more...as we speed by them in the van.

I haven't really been stopping to enjoy these moments with my kids. I've been doing more glancing than gazing, and because I've been so busy, I haven't taken much time to enjoy the rapidly passing beauty of spring.

I started thinking about this a few days ago as the kids--in the van, of course--started asking about our Easter plans for this year. This question got us thinking about last year's Easter festivities. As we talked, we realized we had no memory of our church's Easter service, our Easter dinner, hunting for eggs, or anything else.

We couldn't remember any of those details because we didn't experience them. Last Easter, we got up before the sun to drive up to Minnesota to say our goodbyes to Jenny, sister-in-law and aunt, who would lose her battle with cancer the next day.

Jenny had a beautiful tree in her front yard, which she enjoyed watching blossom every spring. The last couple of years of her life, she commented that every spring when she saw that tree blossom, she wondered if it was the last time she would get to experience it. Jenny enjoyed watching the bloom. She took time to be in the moment, because she didn't know how many moments she had left.

Jenny isn't here this year to watch the trees blossom. My kids, however, are here. They are fully experiencing the blossoming trees all around them, and to be frank, I've been missing out. I've been so busy that I haven't taken time to enjoy the healthy life I now have the energy to live.

Living healthy isn't easy. It takes time to fix breakfast every morning, rather than plop a box of cereal on the table. It takes time to make foods from scratch, when I used to buy them ready-made. It takes time to drive around to several stores, because each one carries some of the items I need for the best price. It takes time (although, not too much!) to surge train. All of this on top of an already full life, and it can sometimes feel overwhelming.

I certainly don't advocate abandoning a healthier lifestyle in order to have more time. The energy, vitality and health you would lose would far outweigh the benefits. However, it is important to keep life balanced, to schedule out the necessities properly so you have more time for the vital things, like experiencing the spring blossoms with your kids.

Each one of us can take a few moments to stop and think about what we're doing and how we're spending our time. What tasks can we combine? What can we eliminate? How can we be "in the moment" and not consumed by work?

The following are just a few suggestions. I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas as well! I bet you have some great ones! Please include them in the comments below.

1. Separate your "To-Do" list between must-do's and want-to-do's. Then, force yourself to be okay with it if the want-to-do's don't all get done.

2. Talk with your spouse about expectations. Spend some time communicating what each of you feels are "must-do's" to keep your household running, and then decide who will do them. This can clear up a lot of tension and frustration.

3. Delegate. Beth Moore, in one of her videos, tells a story about a time when she was running around like crazy in the kitchen and her husband was just sitting on the couch. Feeling more and more exasperated, she finally exclaimed, "Would you please get up and help me?" He looked at her, surprised, and then said, "You need help? What do you need? Anything for you, Babe." I'm pretty sure that not every husband would be quite that helpful, but it is true that women often notice everything that needs to be done and assume their families are just being lazy by not pitching in. Sometimes, this may be the case, but a lot of the time, they just need to be asked. This is another great conversation to have with your spouse. Which jobs do they not mind helping out with? Which ones do they despise? They're going to be a lot more helpful if you delegate to them jobs they don't mind doing.

4. Cook in bulk. It takes almost no more time at all to triple the recipe you're already cooking anyway, then throw the extra portions in the freezer.

5. Utilize the crock pot. I love days when I can just throw in the ingredients, turn it on, and let it simmer all day. It doesn't heat up your house in the summer, it makes mealtime so much less harried, and the meals it cooks are so tender and delicious!

6. Increase the space between household jobs. I don't know if it's because I helped put myself through school cleaning houses, but for a long time, I had this inner expectation that the entire house must be cleaned, top to bottom, every week. I was honestly really surprised when I went to a good friend's house, and she told me she only dusted once a month. How could she? Didn't she know the rules? Then I realized that those were just rules I had given to myself. The roof is not going to fall in if I clean the bathrooms every other week instead of every week! If you just can't stand for the house to get a little dirty, refer back to suggestion number 3.

7. Include some low-maintenance meals in your menu. Well, first of all, have a menu, period. Instead of trying to figure out what to have for dinner each night, it's a lot less stressful to simply look at your pre-planned menu. Once you have a menu, take note of which days you've got extra things going on and make that meal low-stress for you. Perhaps that's the night you pull out the extra helpings from the bulk cooking you did earlier, or the family eats grilled cheese. One of my favorite low-maintenance meals is to throw a whole chicken in the crock pot and let it cook on low all day. In the evening, I steam some veggies, and our meal is complete!

What about you? What tasks can you cut back on, do less often, or let go altogether? Take some time today--only if you feel overwhelmed and busy, of course--to consider how you can streamline your time so that you have more of it to spend enjoying those fleeting blossoms. I know I'm going to!