Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of My Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to go watch the fireflies. Even if
Speaker 1: you are feeling behind or busy, taking a few minutes
Speaker 1: to relax and enjoy the world probably won't make the
Speaker 1: situation worse, and it might make it better. This is
Speaker 1: my first summer in our new house, and every night
Speaker 1: in July the yard just came alive with fireflies. We
Speaker 1: never had quite that many in the old place, so
Speaker 1: it's like a marvelous little light show. July was also
Speaker 1: a very challenging month in otherwise we were relying on
Speaker 1: back up childcare arrangements, and I wound up doing a
Speaker 1: lot more camp driving than I had planned on, taking
Speaker 1: an hour out of my already shortened work days most
Speaker 1: mornings and afternoons. The time needed to get made up somewhere,
Speaker 1: and so I'd try to get scraps of work time
Speaker 1: wherever I could. But one night, while I was pecking
Speaker 1: away its stuff while my two year old was watching
Speaker 1: Peppa Pig videos, I realized I was probably not going
Speaker 1: to make much progress in the next twenty minutes, and
Speaker 1: since it was twilight, the lightning bugs would be out
Speaker 1: in all their glory, so he and I went outside,
Speaker 1: bringing a few more kids with us. They ran after
Speaker 1: the fireflies, only occasionally catching them and then immediately letting
Speaker 1: them go. The red sky and cooler air after the
Speaker 1: hot day felt almost magical. We stayed outside until it
Speaker 1: was dark. Then it was back inside, where it turns
Speaker 1: out I was still behind. I wish there was a
Speaker 1: great moral here, like I had some amazing idea that
Speaker 1: changed everything I didn't. I mean other than this podcast topic,
Speaker 1: which doesn't really change much, but it was a memory
Speaker 1: piercing the wash of time, like fireflies light up the night.
Speaker 1: I doubt I would have done anything better sitting at
Speaker 1: my desk. Likewise, perhaps you are feeling overwhelmed too. Summer
Speaker 1: can bring vacations, but there's always the madness of prep
Speaker 1: beforehand and catching up later. Many places are short staffed,
Speaker 1: plus they're dealing with supply chain madness and price increases,
Speaker 1: and it just makes everything harder. It's easy to feel
Speaker 1: behind and like there isn't enough time in the day,
Speaker 1: and maybe there isn't, But the truth is, there isn't
Speaker 1: going to be enough time in the day. Regardless of
Speaker 1: what we do. Sometimes we are better off taking a
Speaker 1: little time to enjoy the world and create a memory,
Speaker 1: even if we are overwhelmed. So even if you're swamped,
Speaker 1: take twenty minutes to eat lunch under the shade of
Speaker 1: a tree outside. Even if you're overwhelmed, take a short
Speaker 1: walk with your kids at night, or go through a
Speaker 1: few stones in a creek. The work will still be there,
Speaker 1: the inbox will be there, and yes, we need to
Speaker 1: deal with it, but small amounts of time probably won't
Speaker 1: matter one way or another. You can be overwhelmed and
Speaker 1: see the fireflies, or overwhelmed and not see the fireflies.
Speaker 1: In the long run, memories are all we've got in
Speaker 1: the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 1: to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd
Speaker 1: love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: and Instagram at for Breakfast pod that's b the number four,
Speaker 1: then breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media
Speaker 1: dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying
Speaker 1: in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i
Speaker 1: heart Radio apps, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.