I hope you all had a great weekend and a special Father’s Day! Unfortunately I was not able to be with my dad yesterday since he lives in Arizona, but I am thankful for a nice phone chat with him. I love you “Big Daddio”!
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This weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to take our 5th and 6th grade church group to camp.
Lately I have really been focusing on living in the present. Thanks to my Type A personality and someone who always like to have a “plan”, I often find myself thinking about what’s next or what I need to get done when I’m finished with what I am currently doing. Planning can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing when you’re not enjoying what’s happening in the present.
I have recognized that focusing on living in the present really just calls for an attitude adjustment and some continual reminders to enjoy what I am doing and who I am with. All that other “stuff” that I find myself thinking about can wait until later. I don’t want my life to pass me by in the meantime!
I really took this to heart this weekend and tried my best to truly enjoy my time with each and every one of my little 5th and 6th graders. I love their never ending energy, constant goofiness, and love for life – it is so refreshing.
Of course there was the fluke 4 AM fire alarm that went off in our lodge, and the many gardener snakes the kiddos “demanded” that I pet that made it all the more interesting, but what is camp without all of that?
I came home yesterday looking forward to spending some time with my husband (I missed him!), ordering pizza in, and going to bed early!
P.S. I am slowly but surely trying to catch up with my inbox these days, so don’t think I forgot about you! 
Questions:
- Did you do anything special for Father’s Day? If so, what?
- Do you find yourself having a difficult time living in the present?
- How do you ensure you are living in the present?
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post! I find myself struggling with living in the present too… And it’s sometime I really want to be conscious of during this last few days in my classroom before summer!
It’s so hard NOT to think about and plan for the future AT EVERY MOMENT. So, great reminder of really enjoying the NOW. I am thinking about that more lately, and contemplating some life changes because of it. I recently feel like I am missing out on a lot of my daughter’s life (working full-time), so am reprioritizing some things real soon to balance things out a bit. But more on that in an upcoming post! As for the weekend, we enjoyed a nice family hike up in the mountains, complete with playing/splashing in a creek. Seeing the joy on everyone’s faces (hubby, toddler, and dogs included) reminded me that we need to get out and do it more!
that sounds like a perfect family adventure! looking forward to reading your post on some of the changes you’re making.
I am the same way, type a personality that struggles with mindfulness. Being with kids really helps me do that and gives me practice so when I am not with them I am more aware of my racing thoughts. Aka why my job this year is perfect for me! Looks like a fun weekend!
Yay for a fun time at camp! I had my dad take me to the airport yesterday (so special I know haha) and gave him a card and gift
. I soooo need to work on focusing more on the present too! I’m not even always worried about the future, I just don’t really live in the moment all the time. Glad you had a great weekend girl…um, minus the petting of snakes haha. Love u!
aww good for you! i’m glad you were able to spend some extra time with your dad, even if it was just in the car. sometimes some of my best conversations have been on car rides! love you too!
This is something I am trying really hard to do this summer. I need to learn that while planning can be great, not planning can be even better. Or even not always sticking to your plans and same old routine – which I am really bad for!
exactly!
I have a really hard time living in the present. I worry about the future a lot. And like you, am realizing that if I don’t live in the present live just passes you by.
That 5/6th grade age is wonderful isn’t it?
i really do love them – they bring out my goofy side!
This is a great message. I’m a planner too, always thinking about what I have to do, making lists, crossing things off, etc. I definitely need to live in the present more, the summer is already flying by at warp speed. I wish time would slow down!
This message definitely rings true with me. I’m the same way – over planning everything! I have to consciously remind myself to let go sometimes and live in the moment!
I feel like I never take the time to slow down… I’m always rushing things. I need to get better at that!
Camp looks like fun!
Church camp is always fun! I have to marvel at the energy that 5th and 6th graders seem to have – it never ends! As a wife, mother, and a full-time career woman, I really struggle with living in the present. It seems as though most days I am trying to get thru the mile long list of things I need to do. But this past weekend, I didn’t do a single thing I had planned on doing – instead I went on a 3 mile walk with good friends and caught up on much needed girl talk, snuggled in my bed with my daughter watching cartoon until we drifted off for an afternoon nap, enjoyed a walk on our farm with my hubby, and spent lots of time with both my side and my husband’s side of the family. I think that is the key to ensuring you are living in the present – slowing down, not always living my a plan or to do list.
yes, well said kimberly! i’m so glad you were able to enjoy time with those you love this weekend and truly live in the moment!
Thanks for the great post–I definitely need a reminder to live in the present! I was just going through the rest of my summer schedule with my husband, and found I’ve got something almost every weekend, which makes summer feel like it’s already over.
I need to take a step back and take things day-by-day and enjoy each activity we have going on.
I LOVE this!! It is always a lifelong challenge to STAY in the present, but still plan for the future. It is a huge, total balance. But I feel ya–it’s tough, but so worth it when it does happen. Vacations are great reminders of that (as are kids)
xoxo
For Father’s Day, I went to lunch with my family, then my in-laws had a celebration at my brother-in-laws house. We were celebrating both Father’s Day AND an engagement in the family!
how fun!! that is exciting!
Aw, your weekend with the little guys looks like so much fun!
I know what you mean–I spend a lot of time thinking about the past and planning for the future–it’s easy to get so caught up in that that you forget to live the moments that you’re in right now. I heard something the other day about how we view the past better than it was and the present worse than it is…I can definitely relate to that a lot of days!
that certainly rings true to me too! thank you for sharing that!
Awesome post! I usually like to have a plan, but it’s also refreshing to just go with the flow sometimes
What a fun time with the kids! My dad lives a few states away as well, so I didn’t get to see him either, but the phone chat was nice
I’m glad you had a good time! I was a camp counselor for a summer and absolutely loved it!
We ate all day for Father’s day. Brunch at 10:30. Late lunch at 4. Dinner at 6:30. Oomph.
sounds like my kinda day!
haha
Great post! I’ve recently been thinkin a lot about this too. I am such a planner that sometimes I spend more time planning the next thing instead of just enjoying what I am doing. I’m trying really hard this month (one of my goals) to plan less and enjoy more!
Looks like a great day! I can relate to not always living in the moment. I have to work on that one myself. It can be so hard for me to just relax. Any tips on how to make it easier?
taking a walk or doing yoga or simply taking a big deep breath helps me. i also just remind myself of all the positives in my present situation.
Living in the present has always been hard for me – and I learned a tough lesson over the past few weeks that I am going to use as a reminder to stay PRESENT!
I was so pumped for summer vacation – that I didn’t even fully grasp that I would be giving my kiddos to a new teacher shortly. This dawned on my with 3 days of school left.. and rather than being excited for summer, I was sad that they’d be leaving me. I wish I had been more present in the couple of weeks before instead of in a rush for vacation! Lesson learned!
thanks for sharing what you learned! i can relate to what you’re saying for sure.
I try to remind myself of the same thing. I don’t want to look back with regrets!
That’s funny – I’m currently reading a great book that talks about being present – it’s called “The Gift of Our Compulsions”. It talks about how sometimes our compulsions are our inner longings for being present in our body right then and there. Anyway, lately I’ve been trying to use my senses as much as possible and take deep breaths – it helps me to stay in the present. All we have is this moment, hey? :0)
exactly! well said. deep breaths always help me too!
Glad you had such a nice weekend with your kiddos, Ashley!! I think we all struggle with living in the moment. I think technology also isn’t helping us. Our brains are constantly going going going and we are trying to do 20 different things at once! Not good!
i totally agree!
Gorgeous pictures, Ashley! And yes, so so so important to just live in the moment
I do sometimes have a hard time living in the present, it’s easy to get caught in nostalgia. I always have to catch myself and remind myself to snap out of it.
I’m so glad you had fun at camp! Living in the present is so hard for me sometimes. It is nice to plan and look forward to things, but I always find myself looking forward to the future and not enjoying today.
I can totes relate to this one and wrote a post on it with my own thoughts awhile back… so yeah, I am here with you Ashley! I know I need to improve on this so being conscious of when my mind starts to wander helps to turn this around!
I DEFINITELY need to work more on living in the present. I’m such a compulsive planner, type-A organization nut…and I love my routine. I’ve gotten better at being more spontaneous, but I find I am always worrying about things. I need to stop worrying and learn to enjoy life more
I’m a definite type-A personality too, and always am grateful to slow down and enjoy the present. Your weekend sounds awesome!
What an awesome post Ashley! I totally am a type A, OCD person. I for sure need more tips to be living in the present moment. I never want to live my life by what a schedule says, how boring! I’m glad you had a great weekend, it sounds like a lot of fun!