The start of a girl’s weekend feels like a rally for freedom. The little girl in me gets excited over girls weekends with the same enthusiasm as I used to have when looking forward to a sleepover party. There’s something calming and renewing about escaping responsibility and connecting with females. No diapers to change. No meals to cook. No crazy pre-dawn wake-ups for solitude in the office. No dog to walk. No to-do list. Just me, my laptop, my curling iron and my yoga clothes for the weekend.
How is it then that when you step away from life, the life you are taking a break from aches from within your bones? In the sweet face of every innocent toddler obediently, and recklessly shadowing their parents through the airport, my heart drops. I miss my little girl. Oh, and the toddlers are beyond cute – enough walking around in this airport would be enough to make one want to have a dozen of them. Their sweet sleepiness and coy smiles, curious glances and gentle morning giggles, the way they snuggle tightly into the nook of protection in their parents’ arms – it is love manifest. As I wait for my flight Ellie’s voice echoes in my mind and is all I can think about. Every doting father I see transforms into the strong stature of Brandon, and he and Ellie are skipping, dancing and playing, holding hands and inviting me in with enthusiastic “Maman!!! Maman!!!” At that moment I love my family more than I imagined ever possible – so much so it feels like my heart will burst from within, and without option to express this overflow, I walk up and down the corridors of the non-descript airport with an internal smile that takes over my whole body as I stroll. I miss Brandon and Ellie, and even our little furry tailed Finnegan, but I appreciate the ache of my heart for awakening me to the profound depth of love I never knew I could feel.
Letting yourself step away from life is perhaps the most revelatory way to get a cleaner glimpse into just what you love so much about your life. It takes the mundane and makes it feel miraculous.
Whatever the little details – both the joyful ones and the tedious, arduous ones – of your life look like, take a moment today to step away, even if just in your mind, so that you can step back into the present of your life with full engagement and appreciation. Sometimes your heart doesn’t know how deeply it beats with love until you are able to vividly feel the great rarity of that love.