Breathe Slowly Into This Paper Bag

I've seen this floating around the Internet in a few places. I'd credit the source if I knew it. I'm not sure if hanging it on the fridge would bring me comfort or make me hyperventilate. Depends on the day. Or the hour.



Some days, when I'm wishing everything would just speed up, this poster would remind me to slow down, focus, be truly present, and appreciate things more. I should look at this poster between 4-6 p.m. on most days.

Other days, when I'm wishing that the kids would just stay little a little longer, I think this poster might make me cry. Upcoming birthdays have me in that mode right now. I can't believe Georgia is going to be six. Six feels old in a lot of ways. She's still my baby. Super immature and way too grown up all at the same time. Of course I always wish I could just freeze June in time, bottle up her lightness and joy and save it for a rainy day. And Waylon? Well, it's weird to look at him and know that the baby of the family is not an actual baby but a little boy. Let's not forget that this is the first time anyone in our family will be celebrating a second birthday without us bringing home a newborn virtually simultaneously. We're entering new territory here.

"The days are long, but the years are short." - Gretchen Rubin (somehow I doubt this sentence originated with her, but she seems to have spread the sentiment far and wide)

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." - Robert Brault