Oddly enough, I find that the subject of this post is a continuation of my last post - in October 2009.
"Baby Time in the Moment" was about my great-nieces. Over a year passed until I saw them again, this January, and they're the impetus for this post, too.
I'll be blunt. 2010 was challenging in so many ways! But as one of my master yoga teachers says, we grow from the negative experiences in our lives more than the positive. So I guess that's one way of saying I grew a LOT last year!
I rang in the 2011 with a yoga party (yes, there are such things), and a few days later, with a visit with my great-nieces... all THREE of them! Meeting little Gracie was so wonderful! Such a happy baby! She really lives up to her name.
B & I have missed Care & Belle so much - our buddies! It was so nice to spend the day with them (and their fantastic parents, too!) Of course, their parents are particularly fantastic for making sure the girls remember their Aunt Gackie and Cousin Beff after a year-long absence! The girls are anything but shy, and greeted us with hugs and smiles immediately, which is saying quite a lot about their confidence level.
It's not that B and I play favorites, but... well, we seem to play favorites with the girls just a bit! Care is my buddy, and Belle and B just hit it off.
(Here Beth is listening to Belle tell her about crocodile-eating chickens. That's right, as opposed to chicken-eating crocodiles...)
At one point, the girls were showing us around their room, and Care said, "Do you want a tattoo?" I immediately said, "Sure!" At which point their mom said, "Boy, are you indulgent! I won't let them do that to me!"
To be honest, I hadn't really thought twice about it. But now I did. It was completely out of character for me to be putting a temporary tattoo on my body. But Care wanted another, and she offered to give me one, so I went for it without thinking.
She picked one out and slapped it on me, just above my belly button. She held a baby wipe on it for a minute or so and confidently proclaimed, "It's done!" To which her mother said, "I'm not sure that was long enough." But it was! And I looked down to see that I wore a green heart-shaped apple on my stomach. Until that moment, I didn't even know what she'd chosen!
But that's the nature of kids' play. Just having an idea of something that seems like fun, suggesting it to your playmate, and going for it!
And I think that's what I like about playing with Care and Belle. From Care's occasional outrageous demands to Belle's outlandish stories about rescuing lemurs from erupting volcanoes. You could become the 'reasonable adult' and squash their ideas, or you could just go with it.
I chose to go with it!
And I love that the girls' mom encourages that. When we arrived, I was thrilled to see that Care was wearing a barrette that had been B's when she was little; one that went with a 'dressy' dress, which meant that it was an expensive one from her Grammie, and thus one that had been worn less than a dozen times. Yet here it was, on Care's head, on an average day, just because Care wanted to be pretty. I loved it! And when Belle picked up a plastic holly wreath from around one of the candles in the living room, instead of saying 'no,' her mom suggested she turn it over so it sat better! Way to go mom! It wasn't going to break, and Belle looked like a little Santa Lucia!
I realized that had the same scene taken place 10 years ago, with B in Belle's place, at best I would have tolerated it for a few moments (paired with a disapproving look) or worse, would have stopped it altogether. Which gave me pause.
I've said before that one of my nicknames and alter-egos was Mary Poppins. That was one nanny who really had her stuff together! She facilitated some really wonderful experiences for Jane & Michael Banks. But let's face it: she was really stuffy!!! Even when she was attending the tea party on Uncle Albert's ceiling, she wasn't really participating & laughing. So, I guess what I'm saying is that I'm letting go of Mary. She had her place in my life, but I'd much rather let out Little Girl J and have fun with the other kids!
Recently I went hiking, and one of my friends was feeling a bit odd because there was a childish energy to the day. A discussion ensued about the pros and cons of feeling that way. When your childlike nature comes out, you may feel less mature, less in control, but my argument was that those were the very reasons to embrace that childish nature. Open your eyes, take a deep breath, and take in the wonderment of the day! Instead of getting from point A to point B, look at the way the light filters through the trees. Stop and notice the weird blossoms on the reeds that look like caterpillars. Pause to admire the amazing beauty of the moonrise. Rub the lavender in your hands and take in the scent. If you wonder how cold the creek is, stop and feel it. I only regret that I didn't take off my shoes and splash in it, feeling the sand between my toes. You've got to admit, it's a cool feeling! Just like the little boy I once saw at the beach; after his mom took off his shoes and socks, he walked on the sand, giggling, asking who was tickling his feet!
After all, in our everyday lives, when we're at work, or even in most of our relationships, how often do we really just let ourselves go & be a little kid? Whether it's laughing and running on the grass at the park or in the waves at the beach, it's very freeing to just let go of all of the adult responsibilities and concerns we carry and just embrace the moment! To be fully present, in our bodies, in that place, in that very instant.
More and more in my practice as a yoga instructor, I hear my students lament that their lives have become so busy, so packed with responsibilities, that they never seem to have enough time to enjoy their life - to do what they want to do for themselves or with their family. Work deadlines have to be met, groceries have to be bought, the laundry must be done, the house cleaned, doctor appointments kept, kids shuttled here and there... and before you know it, a year has gone by!
And that's just sad.
We hear all the time whatever little adage applies: "Take time to smell the roses." "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Etc. While those may be old-fashioned phrases, today our mantras may be to "Be Present" or "Spend Quality Time." It's the same concept. And they all speak to the same root idea: Life is short, so make the most of it!
Enjoy those times when you feel like a kid and want to play on the swings, climb a rocket, run in the waves, have a food fight, roll down a grassy hill, or get a (temporary) tattoo. It will do your heart good to embrace that twelve-year-old you, to let go of the stodgy adult, and feel the exhilarating sense of freedom that comes with letting go of responsibility, however temporarily, and just play! Let your heart sing, and laugh, and run in the wind with the sun on your face.
Embrace the moment, embrace the joy, and embrace your inner child!
