Slower, Less Intense

The other day I had a rare experience: instead of needing to rush the kids, I needed to slow them down. Like most parents, I'm usually hustling kids--into clothes, down the stairs, out the door. But on Wednesday, I needed to time our arrival home from school to coincide perfectly with Mama's early arrival home for work so that I didn't need to unload the kids before we all headed out in the car again to go apple picking. And so, with a close eye on the clock, just like I usually have, I found myself killing time--slowing down in the walk to the car, not rushing them into their seats, taking more time to buckle seat belts and chat with the kids while I did it, driving the long way home, going the speed limit exactly, meandering to pick up our picnic lunch. Compared to many of our rushed and scheduled activities, the decreased pace was a novel experience. I like to think I'm good at proverbially smelling the roses, but intentionally and pointedly slowing down--with a close eye on the clock to see just how slow--reminded me that I should do it more often. Besides, really, all that slowing down only used up about 10-15 extra minutes. And really, on most days, I can spare that.