Today has felt pretty ungrounded. It’s probably not a coincidence that today is also a day in which I chose to steal a little extra sleep in the morning instead of making time for some quiet sitting. And no time for detours on the way to work either, and no attempts to stop during the day for a moment’s pause. But lots of activity, that’s for sure–lots of catching up at work, papers graded, admin duties tended to, etc. etc. Busy, busy….

Then after work, it was off to pick up my oldest, who had a late appointment at his school. Then off to the gym and dinner afterwards, like every Wednesday night, and then finally back home.

I came in the door feeling a little bit like I had been so busy that I had missed out on my day. Of course, the truth is: at any moment I could have found the time to reclaim the day for myself. All it would really take is the intention to do so.

So at about 10 o’clock tonight, that’s what I decided to do.

And it was simple. All it took was a few minutes with each person in the family, one on one. Just a few words, and some focused attention to make a connection.

My middle child wanted to share with me a video he found online that he thought I would like. My youngest asked me to check some of her math homework. My wife told me about a conversation she had with one of her good friends. And my oldest? I had to hunt him down. He was already off in his room, connecting in a different way–with his phone, and with his friends. We had just spent the last half hour together at dinner, but not in a very intentional way. So I made sure we shared a few words as well, talking about our upcoming trip to the mountains.

I even made an intentional connection with our dog, spending a few minutes rubbing his ears and head. And if I can rouse the cat, I will spend some time with her as well.

I came home feeling tired, and a bit at a loss as to what I had really accomplished today. In the past hour or so, I would say I’ve made this day count for something.