Little things are often appreciated in a big way - OM [one moment] meet up, week #13

Week #13! This may be the longest I've every "stuck" with something journalistic (is that a word?).  Again, thank you to all who take part.  You've inspired me look for these moments each week.

The kids have been in camp this week: M, paintball and E, tennis.  My sanity is slowing coming back.  Some of you may appreciate my "moment" this week and others may find yourself scratching your heads thinking, "really?"  My moment came each morning when I woke up to get the kids ready for camp and DID NOT have to make them lunch.  It was provided at camp.  I know it's small, but if you are used to making lunches every day, you can appreciate the break.  Am I alone here?!

photo by edp9

Appreciating the little things in life can be BIG!!

What was your 'one moment' this week? What took you out of your present moment and made you reflect, appreciate, enjoy?

Share in the blog comments here, on your own blog (and link back below) or on my Facebook fan page. If you are on Twitter, I've started a hash tag - #omMeetup so that we can converse if we'd like. We'd love to hear your moment this week!

OM [one moment] meet up - week #11 - Begin and end my day with serenity

Yesterday morning I found myself sitting on my deck, overlooking my yard, with a cup of coffee. I took in my surroundings, breathed in fresh air, smelled the lavender, and watched my dog.  This lasted maybe all of 10 minutes.



I then went about my hectic day.

By evening, I found myself in the very same spot with a glass of wine.



Giving myself a few moments at the beginning and end of my day was really a nice way to get centered. Turn on and turn off, so to speak.  It is a routine that I should try to incorporate ever day. My "moment" this week was bookending my day with serenity.

What was your 'one moment' this week? What took you out of your present moment and made you relax, breath, reflect?

Share in the blog comments here, on your own blog (and link back below) or on my Facebook fan page. If you are on Twitter, I've started a hash tag - #OMmeetup so that we can converse if we'd like. We'd love to hear your moment this week!

OM [one moment] meet up - week #10 - unconditional love

Bug., originally uploaded by Jessica Florence.

I hope you all had a great week. I'm pretty sure I did, but it flew by so quickly I don't remember most of it. I have an adventure packed weekend ahead of me that I look forward to sharing with you next week. And I'm pretty excited about Father's Day.

This week, my OM moment came when I woke up one morning to find Sophie's neck and head stretched out over my stomach. She was sound asleep. As I lay there petting her, I realized I was on the receiving end of unconditional love. That is a great feeling.

What was your 'one moment' this week? What took you out of your present moment and made you wonder, scream, remember?

Share in the blog comments here, on your own blog (and link back below) or on my Facebook fan page. If you are on Twitter, I've started a hash tag - #OMmeetup so that we can converse if we'd like. We'd love to hear your moment this week!

OM [one moment] meet up - week #2

OM [one moment] meet up is a weekly gathering of shared moments that make each of us pause and connect with life.  learn more here and join us!


I'm excited that so many of you want to participate in this meet up.  I appreciate your comments and have enjoyed reading your moments and feeling your enthusiasm.  Thank you!

In anticipation of this first official One Moment meet up (I know many of us started last week), I've found myself searching all week for special "moments." This is a great thing, right?!  It doesn't at all surprise me, that my moment came yesterday morning while dropping E (my 8yr old) off at school. Many of my moments are revealed through him as I've posted in the past.

As E left the car and headed to the school door, he approached a classmate and greeted him with a pat on the back. His friend, in turn, did the same to him. That was it. Nothing more. Just a pat and then they both ran in to the school.

[source]

To see such young kids perform this warm gesture was moving. It immediately reminded me of the importance of acknowledging our friends, family, other people with even a small gesture of saying, "hey, what's up, buddy?" 

So what was your moment this week?
Share your moment by leaving a comment, post on your own blog (and link back below), or visit my Facebook fan page to comment there. 

Organizing a meet up :: OM [one moment] :: wanna join?

It is so easy to get caught up in our own world and lose sight of little moments and things along the way. We are all so busy with family, work, school, worries, life. Every day activities become routine:

Get up, get out of bed, get kids off to school, shower, work (email/blog/tweet), walk dog, work some more (orders/shipping/designing), kids come home, run kids to activities (music/sports), dinner, kid's bedtime, work some more, my bedtime.

wash, rinse, repeat!

Personally, I've been trying to take note when something catches my eye for the first time. It may be a thought, a product, a sound that causes me to pause. It's that one moment that shakes me out of my routine fog and makes me smile, wonder, breath. I've somewhat referred to these moments in past posts here, such as dropping E off at school. But recently, I've made it a point to actively look for these little moments. 

Walking Sophie the other day, my newest life routine, I realized that I hadn't noticed some things very close to my own home.

I began to notice my neighbor's beautiful doors, cute porches, yellow fire hydrants (and where each is located). I've lived in this neighborhood for 6ish years. I'm just now noticing these things?!

[Note: I may have to look into my fire hydrant obsession.]

I thought I'd organize a meet up so that we could share and encourage each other to pause in our individual lives. After all, it's these little moments that get us through the day and connect us with others.

Just look for one moment in your day, week, or even month. If you have a blog, share it with your readers and link back here [an added SEO bonus is that we will be sharing links]. If you are on Facebook, I'll start a discussion page and you can share there here. I'll create a group on Flickr so you can share there, too. Or simply leave a comment.

I'll be adding more info, links, and an OM banner to this post before the first meet up next Friday.

[update 4.10.10] Below is a button you can use in your post to redirect your readers to this post for further information.  Simply copy the coding in the box and place it in your blog post or sidebar.




<a href="http://www.alamodestuffblog.com/2010/04/organizing-meet-up-om-one-moment-wanna.html" target="_blank"><img alt="om [one moment] meet up" src="http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx125/alamodestuff/OM_alamodemeetupbutton.jpg" border="0" /></a>
Your moment can be a thought, something funny, any product (so long as it's not gratuitous self promotion), a picture, etc. My goal is to prompt you with a post every Friday (if you are posting on a blog, you don't have to post exclusively on Fridays, just link back whenever you post).

We can encourage each other to stop and smell the flowers!

What do you think?   Will you join me?

[update] Below is what will appear at the end of each OM meet up post (every Friday). If you are a blogger and want to link back, you simply add your name and link to that Friday's post. Your link will be added to the list.  If you are excited about this meet up, you don't have to wait 'til next Friday. Share one moment now and link below!  Let's get this party started!

The simple pleasures in the little moments of parenthood

There are little moments in parenting that make me grin from ear to ear. They are sometimes few and far between but when they hit me, I get chills up my spine. I think these moments are enhanced to make us appreciate the mundane aspects of parenting.

Every morning, I drop my youngest off in front of his school. I pull my car in line with the rest of the parents, stealthily kiss him on the cheek, and watch him exit the car to meander his way to the front door of his school. Each morning, I sit there, eyes glued and watch him for that one moment that he may turn around to wave. It doesn't happen often, but I don't want him to miss me if he happens to look back.

This morning I laughed as I realized that this little moment in my morning makes me so happy. I watched the other parents in their own routines: some walk their children to the door, some just stand by their car, a few drop their kids and take off late for work. Most of us lingered...watching...waiting...

He didn't look back this morning, but I was glad I watched him until I couldn't see him anymore.

Diagram of E meandering from car to front door of school.