WEBVTT - Seek spots of calm 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of My Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to seek out spots of calm in

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<v Speaker 1>a busy life. It can be easy to feel frantic

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<v Speaker 1>and unhappy, especially when things turn chaotic. If that's the case,

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<v Speaker 1>it is important to notice the absence of chaos, mostly

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<v Speaker 1>to remind ourselves that these moments of calm exist. They

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<v Speaker 1>can become part of our story too. My life has

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<v Speaker 1>been a bit more chaotic over the past few weeks

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<v Speaker 1>than I tend to like. We adopted a puppy, in

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<v Speaker 1>case anyone is wondering, toddlers and puppies are quite a combination.

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<v Speaker 1>We had a big childcare change, We've had some normal

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<v Speaker 1>non COVID illnesses, the toddler has been regressing on sleep,

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<v Speaker 1>and the house renovation project is in the everything is

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<v Speaker 1>ripped up stage. So there's just a lot of unpredictability.

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<v Speaker 1>Such is life. The problem is when the chaos becomes

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<v Speaker 1>our entire narrative. To combat that, I am trying to

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<v Speaker 1>notice little spots of calm, like when I can read

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<v Speaker 1>on the porch for thirty minutes after the toddler's bedtime,

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<v Speaker 1>and before the six year old bedtime. When I am

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<v Speaker 1>sitting on the sidelines of a kid's game by myself

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<v Speaker 1>and can just listen to a podcast and relax, or

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<v Speaker 1>if I've squeezed in a trail run and can listen

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<v Speaker 1>to the birds, or if I've headed over to the

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<v Speaker 1>new house to sit in the yard all by myself

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<v Speaker 1>for a few minutes. These little islands of calm can

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<v Speaker 1>feel small when you spend an hour playing phone tag

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<v Speaker 1>with the pediatrician and the dog has ripped up a

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<v Speaker 1>newspaper you thought was put away, but guess what, With kids,

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<v Speaker 1>nothing stays put away. But these moments do exist. They

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<v Speaker 1>happened just in the same way that the chaotic stuff happened.

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<v Speaker 1>So notice them, and when you do notice them, you

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<v Speaker 1>can start to try to create more of them. I

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<v Speaker 1>have been pretty good about seeing what I've got, say,

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<v Speaker 1>forty five minutes before the setter leaves, and after I've

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<v Speaker 1>finished the days to do list, to do something calming,

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<v Speaker 1>rather than lose the time to email, which will always

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<v Speaker 1>be there. Best to do something that will stand out

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<v Speaker 1>as nice, And if the calm finds me well, best

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<v Speaker 1>to notice that too. The morning I wrote this, My

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<v Speaker 1>husband had left early for work, and I was up

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<v Speaker 1>with the toddler. As I sat in the living room chair,

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<v Speaker 1>he got occupied with a toy and I realized I

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<v Speaker 1>could just keep sitting. Sure the other kids would need

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<v Speaker 1>to be woken up soon. Lunch had to be made,

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<v Speaker 1>kids had to get going, but until they did, I

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<v Speaker 1>could just sit and let him play and not disturb

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<v Speaker 1>the scene. It lasted about four minutes, but that isn't nothing,

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<v Speaker 1>so better to notice the four minutes then let them

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<v Speaker 1>disappear in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows