Most people respond with pity when I tell them I spent my week’s vacation with my in-laws. They assume that it is NOT a vacation. But contrary to caricatures, I enjoy our time together. My husband’s folks are non-intrusive and gracious… except there is one thing that annoys me – my father-in-law’s speed. Everything (I mean everything) he does at his own pace – very, very slowly.
One evening, the entire family was downstairs, dressed and ready to go out for dinner, except for dad. “What’s he doing up there,” my husband quipped, “getting a massage and manicure?” Nope. He was just getting ready to take a shower. Yes… getting ready to take a shower.
Dad’s low gear can drive me nuts. Yet, at the same time I admire him for it. I rush through so much of life, missing much of it. But not dad. Dad lives fully into every moment he has, savoring it. I know he wasn’t always this slow but retirement has granted him the space to breathe. “Everyday’s a holiday!” he says. What a wonderful outlook on life.
A holiday is the observance of a significant day. It is derived from “Holy Day.” So what dad says is true, everyday is a holy-day. Everyday is significant. That annoying trait of his is one I actually desire. I need to slow down and savor it. How do you shift into a lower gear?
tiny tattoos 