A few months ago, Chris and I were returning curtains at World Market. We were cramming it in between other errands, hurriedly trying to get everything done before dinner. Have you ever noticed that it's during these moments - the ones when you literally have four minutes to accomplish a four minute and 35 second errand - that technology chooses to betray you?
The only available cash register decided not to cooperate. Before we knew it, we'd been standing there for 10 minutes and there were about six people behind us. No doubt the woman purchasing a simple bottle of wine was frustrated with our out-of-the-package, online-order curtain return.
It was in this moment that our then much-smaller baby started kicking with enough strength for Chris to feel it for the first time. Chris! The baby is moving, I grabbed his hand and placed it on my stomach. There we stood, between a hard-working cashier, four already opened curtain panels and six frustrated customers, sharing a major moment for our little family. There we stood, our baby kicking and Chris connecting with it in a whole new way, under the fluorescent lights, taking the World Market Explorer program to a new level.
The cashier told us about his baby, then. And a few of the patrons in line softened as they had to wait a little bit longer.
But for us, the moment reminded us to slow down. It reminded us that connection is found in the day-to-day and life is lived in the mundane. I've noticed that so often we place the most emphasis on the big events - weddings, parties, trips - even weekends - but it's in the most normal moments - in the in-between, when the good stuff really happens.
It's the I love you text from Chris during his 3:30 meeting. It's my mom dropping off Perfect Bars on a random Tuesday because she knows we love them. It's when my favorite song comes on Spotify as the warm spring breeze blows through our house. It's laying next to Chris in the middle of the night, hearing him breathe as his arm is draped across me. It's returning to our house after vacation and realizing that, for the first time, it feels like home.
It's the Monday, the mundane, the simplest moments that feed us, fuel us and remind us who we are. Sometimes milestones will mean the most. But other times, feeling loved and safe, knowing our place in the world, and taking time to slow down and connect with one another will be the very thing that matters the most.
