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5AM alarm.
It’s my weekly routine.
Wake-up. Brush Teeth. Get dressed. Lay on the floor.
Write three pages of brain drain. Pray.
And then, I wake up the 3 bears. (smile)
This morning, I was scribbling down thoughts (or lack of) so I started writing to my 80 year old self, about my life and what it’ll be like fifty-ish years from now. Mid-sentence as I was describing how it feels to have kids in their 50’s, college grandchildren in their 20’s, possible great grandchildren so small that no one trusts me to hold them…doodling about the days when I’m able to read and write whenever I want but I can’t stay awake long enough to finish one page—when suddenly, I’m interrupted.
I hear a scampering behind my house.
Squirrels?
I hear something moved across the porch.
Early morning patio furniture thieves?
Clinking.
Am I even awake?
We have windows across the back of the house where I am sitting.
Something is still shuffling around.
Sort of creeped out at this point but keep my pen going as a pacifier.
Next, a small knock on the window close to my head.
(Cue that moment when you let loose a completely useless silent scream that no one can hear to help you if you really were in trouble. So, it’s the basically you’re dead scream if you were about to be dead.)
And then a voice…”Brooooklynn”.
Startled, I stand up and talk to myself for a second.
Quickly, I look into the blinds. There, not the face of a singing fox or a patio pirate, rather the smiles of two of my closest friends.
At 5:15AM
Panic subsides.
I open the door and see the surprise.
A birthday party for me.
On the first day of my birth week (because all of the other days were full).
They decided to forget about the frenetic pace of our lives and set up a breakfast club just for me.
Birthday bunting.
Table cloths.
Starbucks coffee.
Breakfast quiche.
Bagels from Panera.
What time did you wake up???? I wanted to know.
It was around 4AM, they were getting ready.
I was still in shock as they told me their plans and how they came about.
It was almost as amazing as the time my best friend in the 4th grade bought me that Michael Jackson cassette tape for my birthday. That awesome.
We ate and talked about what we want to be when we grow up.
I looked around the table for butter. They didn’t bring any butter.
I had to be reminded that I could possibly walk into my house to get some.
I had forgotten where I was.
I had been transported.
I examined their phones and read the texts of the past few days of party planning.
It was their gift to me. A celebration in the quiet space of my day.
A bright light in the dark.
A funny story to start it out right.
One of the most hilarious window tap freak outs to date.
Gifts that meant something.
A friendship that lasts longer than our Facebook accounts.
Jenn and Kelly help me to see that it’s better to just do stuff.
Talking/ texting/ thinking about things can be fun.
But doing them, well, that’s just the best way to live.
Doing stuff is better than not doing stuff. 110% of the time.
I feel like I’m closer to Jesus today.
I feel like the goodness of the morning spilled over into my parenting.
I feel like I have the best friends, spouse, and children in the whole world.
I feel like I have more ammo to do stuff than I ever have before.
Leaving stuff undone is like carrying around heavy suitcases full of cash, except they are locked and you can’t remember what you did with the key. Not doing stuff becomes burdensome.
Not unlocking and unleashing what’s inside is wasting it. It’s a shame to let all of the good stuff go to waste.
What stuff is undone in your life?
What do you want to/ need to/ can’t wait to do?
What’s keeping your from it?
Are you lugging around suitcase full of dreams, hopes, ideas, possiblities, but you’ve buried your key in busyness and worry?
Can you think about the possibilities—if you had no other choice–how would you try to achieve one of them this week?
Jenn and Kelly didn’t let anything stop them today.
I now have this great memory that reminds me that it’s always better to wake up and celebrate than it is to spend your life sleeping in. (Unless of course, your “doing stuff” is sleeping in. Then heck, get a babysitter. Or kick out your roommate out of the apartment. Put up blankets over your windows. Build a fort and go to sleep!)
Doing Stuff > Hoarding Stuff
Try something today and see how light you feel!
