Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is that this is it. You are not
Speaker 1: racing to a destination. You are living your life. So
Speaker 1: rather 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 lising the importance of
Speaker 1: noticing everyday life when everything seems to be going by
Speaker 1: so fast. This is not a race to the finish line,
Speaker 1: she realized, this is it. I get that it is
Speaker 1: so easy to get caught up in the business of
Speaker 1: all the stuff we need to do for our families
Speaker 1: that we sometimes forget to enjoy ourselves and enjoy them.
Speaker 1: It is truly lovely to make a flawless dinner for
Speaker 1: your best friend's birthday, or to decorate a Christmas tree
Speaker 1: that looks like it came out of a magazine. But
Speaker 1: sometimes in the process we get distracted from the people
Speaker 1: and get consumed by the projects. If you ever feel
Speaker 1: that way, then maybe you can try repeating these words.
Speaker 1: This is not a race, this is it, or simply
Speaker 1: this is it. The party is not so much about
Speaker 1: the intricate decor as it is about bringing people together
Speaker 1: and enjoying the experience of having them there. Holiday events
Speaker 1: and all their logistics, they're not about planning them and
Speaker 1: then crossing them off a list. It's ideally about enjoying
Speaker 1: them and creating memories. Now, I do want to acknowledge
Speaker 1: that I am not downplaying the importance of logistics. Someone
Speaker 1: does have to do the work of planning and figuring
Speaker 1: out the details. A party maybe about bringing people together,
Speaker 1: but folks are going to be mad if there's no food,
Speaker 1: and they will be annoyed if there is nowhere to sit.
Speaker 1: My kids got to do a lot of wonderful things
Speaker 1: over the holidays, from seeing shows and lights and trains
Speaker 1: to travel. None of that was magic. It happened because
Speaker 1: I did the work to make it happen. And sometimes
Speaker 1: it is a wee bit stressful to make everything happen.
Speaker 1: I do not react well if someone would then tell me, oh,
Speaker 1: logistics don't matter, just be present and focus on the magic.
Speaker 1: No that's 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 the first act, because,
Speaker 1: after all, this is it, this is life. I know
Speaker 1: many people listening to this podcast do a lot of
Speaker 1: work for their families, their communities, and their employees to
Speaker 1: make wonderful things happen. From the exciting birthday party to
Speaker 1: the retreat where you got those breakthrough ideas. None of
Speaker 1: it is magic. But as we figure out all the
Speaker 1: logistical steps of these processes, maybe we can add as
Speaker 1: a last step to notice and enjoy experience the fun
Speaker 1: of a new employee being folded into a community. See
Speaker 1: the kid connect with a new friend who came to
Speaker 1: the party. It is not a race to get through
Speaker 1: these things. This is it the best to experience it
Speaker 1: 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 it.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your quest jens or
Speaker 1: anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and
Speaker 1: Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E 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 app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.