Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that this is it. You are not racing
Speaker 1: to a destination. You are living your life. So rather
Speaker 1: than getting too caught up in the next thing's logistics,
Speaker 1: be present and enjoy things when you possibly can. Today's
Speaker 1: tip comes from cookbook author Jenny Rosenstratch, who blogs at Dinner,
Speaker 1: a Love Story and Cup of Joe. One of her cookbooks,
Speaker 1: How to Celebrate Everything, offers recipes for holidays, birthdays, family rituals,
Speaker 1: and family dinner. In a blog post explaining why she
Speaker 1: wrote the book, she describes real the importance of noticing
Speaker 1: everyday life when everything seems to be going by so fast.
Speaker 1: This is not a race to the finish line, she realized,
Speaker 1: this is it. I get that it is so easy
Speaker 1: to get caught up in the busyness of all the
Speaker 1: stuff we need to do for our families that we
Speaker 1: sometimes forget to enjoy ourselves and enjoy them. It is
Speaker 1: truly lovely to make a flawless dinner for your best
Speaker 1: friend's birthday, or to decorate a Christmas tree that looks
Speaker 1: like it came out of a magazine. But sometimes in
Speaker 1: the process we get distracted from the people and get
Speaker 1: consumed by the projects. If you ever feel that way,
Speaker 1: then maybe you can try repeating these words. This is
Speaker 1: not a race, this is it, or simply this is it.
Speaker 1: The party is not so much about the intricate decor
Speaker 1: as it is about bringing people together and enjoying the
Speaker 1: experience of having them there. Holiday events and all their
Speaker 1: logistics are not about planning them and then crossing them
Speaker 1: off a list. It's ideally about enjoying them and creating memories. Now,
Speaker 1: I do want to acknowledge that I am not downplaying
Speaker 1: the importance of logistics. Someone does have to do the
Speaker 1: work of planning and figuring out the details. A party
Speaker 1: may be about bringing people together, but folks are going
Speaker 1: to be mad if there's no food, and they will
Speaker 1: be annoyed if there is nowhere to sit. My kids
Speaker 1: got to do a lot of wonderful things over the holidays,
Speaker 1: from seeing shows and lights and trains to travel. None
Speaker 1: of that was magic. It happened because I did the
Speaker 1: work to make it happen. And sometimes it is a
Speaker 1: wee bit stressful to make everything happen. I do not
Speaker 1: react well if someone would then tell me, oh, logistics
Speaker 1: don't matter, just be present and focus on the magic.
Speaker 1: No that said, during each event, I did try to
Speaker 1: notice and see the highlights, the kids laughing as they
Speaker 1: ran through a Christmas light tunnel, or my little guy
Speaker 1: sitting on Santa's lap for the first time. I made
Speaker 1: sure to build in things that I enjoyed too, like
Speaker 1: a solo night at a botanical garden decked out for
Speaker 1: the holidays and singing the Messiah choruses. I made sure
Speaker 1: to notice and savor my favorite part of The Nutcracker,
Speaker 1: when the snowflakes dance at the end of.
Speaker 2: The first act, because, after all, this is it, this
Speaker 2: is life.
Speaker 1: I know many people listening to this podcast do a
Speaker 1: lot of work for their families, their communities, and their
Speaker 1: employees to make wonderful things happen. From the exciting birthday
Speaker 1: party to the retreat where you got those breakthrough ideas.
Speaker 1: None of it is magic. But as we figure out
Speaker 1: all the logistical steps of these processes, maybe we can
Speaker 1: add as a last step to notice and enjoy experience
Speaker 1: the fun of a new employee being folded into a community.
Speaker 1: See the kid connect with a new friend who came
Speaker 1: to the party. It is not a race to get
Speaker 1: through these things. This is it, so best to experience
Speaker 1: it as much as possible. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your question or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then
Speaker 1: breakfast Pod. You can also shoot me an email at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,
Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.