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Moments for Mom
By Elisabeth Corcoran, Author of Calm in My Chaos.
July 2008
My Favorite (Summertime) Thing
I want to tell you about my absolute favorite thing to do in the world. As in, if I could, I would do this every day all day for the rest of my life. But it’s a little embarrassing. I think you’ll think I’m lazy. And I would rather someone think that I’m just about anything other than lazy. Well, I used to think that way. I guess just the fact that I’m writing about it proves one of two things: either I don’t consider this favorite thing of mine to be a lazy practice or…or I really don’t care what people think about me anymore. I think it might be a bit of both.
So here’s my favorite thing to do. It’s me, sitting in a comfortable chair, outside on a perfect weather day (which to me is 70, sunny, slightly breezy), with a book and a cup of tea. Here’s the best part though…it’s when I’m not even reading the book or drinking the tea…it’s when I close my eyes, lean my head back against the chair (preferably inclined just a tad), and feel the sun warm my face, and see the light shine through my closed eyes. I could feel that feeling forever. Lately, in those moments (which I’ve been so grateful to have so many more of these days), I sometimes softly sing the words to a Sara Groves’ song…"You are the sun…shining down on everyone…light of the world…giving light to everything I see…beauty so brilliant, I can hardly take it in…and everywhere You are is warmth and light…" Don’t worry, I sing softly enough not to ruin the moment for myself. And I sigh a sigh from deep within.
The bummer about this favorite thing, however, is three-fold. First, I live in Illinois. Which translates to me having maybe twenty days out of the entire year that are "perfect weather days" in my book. Two, though I live in a forest preserve setting, and we are set back from the road some, semi trucks drive by occasionally jolting me out of the tranquility, making it really hard for me to make believe that I’m in Eden. And three, I still consider this favorite thing of mine a guilty pleasure. I.E. one that I shouldn’t indulge in too often, one that I need to justify with a book in hand or plenty of activity the rest of the day, one that I feel the need to explain as "time with God in nature" or "reading to hone my craft of writing", as opposed to calling it what it is --- me sitting in a comfy chair on a pretty day with my eyes closed, sometimes awake, sometimes not so much.
But all of those caveats actually make it all the more precious. Because there is no perfection here and now. Not yet at least. And here’s what’s interesting to me. As much as I am claiming that this is my all-time favorite thing to do…I know I couldn’t do it all day, every day. Even the sweetness of letting myself enjoy the gift isn’t enough to satisfy my soul. I get restless. I have to change positions. I wake up from that nap. I get hungry or bored even. And so, when I let the annoyances --- of the trucks or the hornet or the cloud that blocks the sun for a minute too long leaving me chilly without a sweater --- point me towards something bigger, then I can remind myself that one day, my soul will be able to handle perfection in bigger slivers of time. I can’t wait for that day.
But here I am writing about it…spilling one of my darkest secrets about myself. Basically declaring that I no longer belong in the rat race, nor do I ever want to go back, and that I absolutely love the slowness of my new life. And yet…ask me what kind of weather day it is right now. Go ahead, ask me. It is 70, sunny, with a slight breeze. And now ask me what I’m doing. Go ahead, ask me. I’m inside on my computer, writing about how pretty it is outside and how much I love being there.
Maybe I’ve got a tie for my all-time favorite things to do.
Copyright © Elisabeth Corcoran. Elisabeth is the author of "In Search of Calm: Renewal for a Mother’s Heart" (2005), and "Calm in My Chaos: Encouragement for a Mom's Weary Soul" (2001). She is wife to Kevin, and mom to Sara, 11½, and Jack, 9¾. Her passion is encouraging women and the Church, and applying her gifts to eradicating global poverty, as well as local and global AIDS, one small step at a time, which she hopes to fulfill through her writing and speaking, and her connection with Open Door Clinic in the Fox Valley area and her church’s partnership in Bo, Sierra Leone. You can learn more about Elisabeth and her ministry at her website. Reprinted with permission.
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