Wherever you are, be all there.

Y'all, I'm baaaaaack. 

It's been five months since my last blog post. My hiatus had a lot to do with what I was trying to focus on during that time - being present. 

Let's be honest, we're all guilty of it. One minute we're enjoying time with our spouses, our kids, our friends or our families and the next, we've been mindlessly browsing social media for an hour, pinning dinner recipes and seeing what the rest of the world has chosen to share. 

Heaven knows, I'm terrible about it. For me, I think I justified this as my "me time." My time to not really have to think about anything, to just have a moment to myself. But those "moments" turned into 20 minute, 30 minute, hour long intervals of time. I'd go from browsing Facebook, to browsing the housing market, to scrolling through Pinterest and Twitter. And while I felt decompressed, I was missing out on more important things and moments quickly slipped away that I couldn't get back. 

I started small. On days that I would go with Jacob to lunch, I'd leave my cell phone behind at the office. I owe that hour to him. Mornings and evenings both have the tendency to be a little chaotic in our household. Mornings are spent juggling between getting ourselves and two kids ready to head out the door for the day. Evenings are just as bad, if not worse. Does Tristan have homework? Do we need to go grocery shopping? The house needs picked up. What's for dinner? Followed by family time, bath-time &  bedtime, all which seem rushed more often than not. 

Now, there are days when I leave my phone tucked in my purse or upstairs on my nightstand from the time I walk in the door, until the time I plug it in to charge before I go to bed [so friends, on the nights that it may take me hours to respond to a text message, it's nothing personal, I promise]. 

I owe it to my husband to be present. My kids. My family. My friends. But most of all, I owe it to myself. 

I blinked and Tristan is 11. 

Brynlee is in preschool. 

Jacob and I have struggled and triumphed through 13 years together. 

My friends are married and starting families. 

Exciting things are happening within my immediate family. 

And I want to be present in every moment of that. 

Because of it, I hear the silly songs my daughter parades around singing . I hear the excitement register in Tristan's voice when he talks about playing football or tells me about his friends. I laugh more due to my husband's corny, but also clever dad jokes. I get lost in a book. I smile more with my friends. I truly relax.

I'd be lying if I said I succeed every day. Because I don't. Like everything else in life, It's a constant work in progress. But I'm seeing the benefits, so I'll keep on keeping on.