Living Mindfully — 4th of July edition

image via BL1961

While I usually do my Living Mindfully posts on Saturday evenings, this past Saturday –in the spirit of mindful living– I took the evening off! Imagine that.

Although I skipped delayed the post, I took the time to reflect on any mindful living that had gone on. The instance that stuck out most in my mind was Saturday morning, the morning of 4th of July…

Like many towns, our town has an annual 4th of July parade. Our parade has grown quite popular over the years, and it’s an annual tradition for many locals to stake out their seats the night before by lining up lawn chairs and blankets on the sidewalk. If you’ve grown up in the area {like me} it’s also a chance to have a reunion of sorts. When you go to the 4th of July parade, it’s inevitable that you’ll bump into someone you babysat, attended school with, or had a crush on. For some, this is reason-enough to go.

Call me the Independence Day Grinch, but I skip the parade whenever possible. I realize that parades are fun for kids, and as a responsible parent, it is my *duty* to take them to such a memorable event. However, my parents live in the area, and they are only too eager to take their only-two grandchildren to the parade. It’s a win-win situation.

This didn’t stop me from beating myself up about not taking the kids myself.

As I worked in the garden, connecting the new drip system in the vegetable garden, I could hear the sounds of the parade: the police sirens, the cheers, the live country music… {We live only two blocks away from the parade route.} I kept thinking to myself that I should have put my children’s needs above my own and taken them to the parade. What kind of a mother was I for sending them with their grandparents?…and so on. This went on until my brain switched gears and I began to answer the question: What kind of mother am I?

I am the kind of mother who got up early to dress her kids in their favorite outfits.
I am the kind of mother who slathered on the sunblock to protect their fair skin from the midmorning sun.
I am the kind of mother who gathered hats, sunglasses, and American flags for them to wave.
I am the kind of mother who facepainted their sweet cheeks.
I am the kind of mother who fed them a healthy breakfast before sending them to the parade-of-snacks.
I am the kind of mother who made sure everyone went pee-pee before they left.
I am the kind of mother who knows that parades make kids happy, and that the garden makes this mama happy.

With that, I gave up all feelings of guilt and lost myself in the dirt, the breeze, and my sprinkler system.

This post has been shared with Chatting at the Sky, Tuesdays Unwrapped – a place where special moments are abundant. It has also been shared with Hooked On Houses, since I’m hooked on pursuing mindful living!

Tagged as: kids, mindful living, parenting