Our nephews just left after their annual visit. They live in
the South and visit us for camp and a few Vermont summer days each year. As
always, I was overjoyed to see them arrive, happy they had good experiences at
camp and grateful for the time we had together as a family. And noticing in myself the change, no – it is a disruption, of my routines and how I respond. I’ve always been
completely focused on any houseguests (can’t speak for anyone else, but this
focus is deeply ingrained in the South where I grew up) and none more so than
these nephews. As a result, everything else is upside down. I didn’t even check
my phone messages from Friday night until Sunday night! And interestingly
didn’t realize that I hadn’t checked.
The time is truly a deep dive into the moment.
What’s my takeaway? New experiences help to uncover
routines, habits, patterns in my life. Then it is up to me to think about
whether those habits serve me well or if adjustments are in order going
forward. In this case, am I overly focused on work during most weekends? Am I
cooking a 4-star meal for someone who truly prefers a burger? The
patterns I see again and again are OVER doing, not just meeting the need
but in some cases not even hitting the mark because of the over doing. In the
coming weeks, I’ll keep this top of mind and look for other areas in my life
where my patterns play out – serving me well and not.
© Karen D. Walker 2013