It's Not Always Easy
But It's All Good.
Our family recently went
on a vacation to Lake Tahoe. About 30 minutes after our plane
took off, my 6 year old started vomiting. Well, you can imaginehow uncomfortable it was for him, his 4 month old brother, and three
year old sister since we were on a full flight. Three hours later
we deplaned a little
stinkier, but unscathed.
About an hour after
that, I found myself sitting cross-legged on the dirty airport floor
nursing my baby while helping my son hold a plastic bag/vomit receptacle
and caressing my three year old’s head who was totally exhausted.
Now, normally this scenario would be horrifying to me, but as I walked
through it with a total state of awareness, I realized how much Iwas growing at that very moment as a parent, a spouse and ultimately,
as a person.
I wasn't horrified. I was filled with compassion
for my children, the other passengers, anyone who stood within smelling
distance of us. I was so present in
the moment. That presence overshadowed
the deluge of emotions I would have been experiencing at any othertime in my life. Mindfulness provided such freedom in an otherwise
chaotic situation. The trip turned out to be a lot of fun despite
a rocky start and a few more bumps in the road (stomach flu is highly
contagious) as
we chose to be mindful in each moment.
