WEBVTT - This is it

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:07.560
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:08.800 --> 0:00:15.120
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:16.360 --> 0:00:21.639
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is that this is it. You are not

0:00:21.920 --> 0:00:26.960
<v Speaker 1>racing to a destination. You are living your life. So

0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:30.240
<v Speaker 1>rather than getting too caught up in the next thing's logistics,

0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:38.040
<v Speaker 1>be present and enjoy things when you possibly can. Today's

0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:41.960
<v Speaker 1>tip comes from cookbook author Jenny Rosenstratch, who blogs at Dinner,

0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:47.080
<v Speaker 1>a Love Story and Cup of Joe. One of her cookbooks,

0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:52.879
<v Speaker 1>How to Celebrate Everything, offers recipes for holidays, birthdays, family rituals,

0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:57.160
<v Speaker 1>and family dinner. In a blog post explaining why she

0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:01.320
<v Speaker 1>wrote the book, she describes real lising the importance of

0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:05.520
<v Speaker 1>noticing everyday life when everything seems to be going by

0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:10.000
<v Speaker 1>so fast. This is not a race to the finish line,

0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:17.319
<v Speaker 1>she realized, this is it. I get that it is

0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:19.760
<v Speaker 1>so easy to get caught up in the business of

0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:22.120
<v Speaker 1>all the stuff we need to do for our families

0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:27.440
<v Speaker 1>that we sometimes forget to enjoy ourselves and enjoy them.

0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:30.240
<v Speaker 1>It is truly lovely to make a flawless dinner for

0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:34.280
<v Speaker 1>your best friend's birthday, or to decorate a Christmas tree

0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:38.160
<v Speaker 1>that looks like it came out of a magazine. But

0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:41.240
<v Speaker 1>sometimes in the process we get distracted from the people

0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:46.320
<v Speaker 1>and get consumed by the projects. If you ever feel

0:01:46.360 --> 0:01:49.000
<v Speaker 1>that way, then maybe you can try repeating these words.

0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:54.160
<v Speaker 1>This is not a race, this is it, or simply

0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:58.760
<v Speaker 1>this is it. The party is not so much about

0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:01.760
<v Speaker 1>the intricate decor as it is about bringing people together

0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:06.760
<v Speaker 1>and enjoying the experience of having them there. Holiday events

0:02:06.760 --> 0:02:09.120
<v Speaker 1>and all their logistics, they're not about planning them and

0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:12.800
<v Speaker 1>then crossing them off a list. It's ideally about enjoying

0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:17.840
<v Speaker 1>them and creating memories. Now, I do want to acknowledge

0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:23.640
<v Speaker 1>that I am not downplaying the importance of logistics. Someone

0:02:23.840 --> 0:02:27.160
<v Speaker 1>does have to do the work of planning and figuring

0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:31.520
<v Speaker 1>out the details. A party maybe about bringing people together,

0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:35.600
<v Speaker 1>but folks are going to be mad if there's no food,

0:02:36.280 --> 0:02:38.799
<v Speaker 1>and they will be annoyed if there is nowhere to sit.

0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:42.600
<v Speaker 1>My kids got to do a lot of wonderful things

0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:45.880
<v Speaker 1>over the holidays, from seeing shows and lights and trains

0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:51.600
<v Speaker 1>to travel. None of that was magic. It happened because

0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:55.240
<v Speaker 1>I did the work to make it happen. And sometimes

0:02:55.320 --> 0:02:58.239
<v Speaker 1>it is a wee bit stressful to make everything happen.

0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:02.520
<v Speaker 1>I do not react well if someone would then tell me, oh,

0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:06.240
<v Speaker 1>logistics don't matter, just be present and focus on the magic.

0:03:07.440 --> 0:03:12.600
<v Speaker 1>No that's said. During each event, I did try to

0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:16.120
<v Speaker 1>notice and see the highlights, the kids laughing as they

0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:19.200
<v Speaker 1>ran through a Christmas light tunnel, or my little guy

0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:23.399
<v Speaker 1>sitting on Santa's lap for the first time. I made

0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:27.040
<v Speaker 1>sure to build in things that I enjoyed too, like

0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.720
<v Speaker 1>a solo night at a botanical garden decked out for

0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:35.200
<v Speaker 1>the holidays and singing the Messiah choruses. I made sure

0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:38.280
<v Speaker 1>to notice and savor my favorite part of The Nutcracker,

0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:43.880
<v Speaker 1>when the snowflakes dance at the end of the first act, because,

0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:51.600
<v Speaker 1>after all, this is it, this is life. I know

0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:54.280
<v Speaker 1>many people listening to this podcast do a lot of

0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:58.800
<v Speaker 1>work for their families, their communities, and their employees to

0:03:58.920 --> 0:04:03.240
<v Speaker 1>make wonderful things happen. From the exciting birthday party to

0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:07.040
<v Speaker 1>the retreat where you got those breakthrough ideas. None of

0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:11.080
<v Speaker 1>it is magic. But as we figure out all the

0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:15.720
<v Speaker 1>logistical steps of these processes, maybe we can add as

0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:21.680
<v Speaker 1>a last step to notice and enjoy experience the fun

0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:26.080
<v Speaker 1>of a new employee being folded into a community. See

0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:28.400
<v Speaker 1>the kid connect with a new friend who came to

0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:32.120
<v Speaker 1>the party. It is not a race to get through

0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:37.359
<v Speaker 1>these things. This is it the best to experience it

0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:43.640
<v Speaker 1>as much as possible. In the meantime, this is Laura.

0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:49.039
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of

0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:57.760
<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from it.

0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:00.560
<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your quest jens or

0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:04.320
<v Speaker 1>anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and

0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:09.719
<v Speaker 1>Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four,

0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:13.800
<v Speaker 1>then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:17.480
<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at i heeart media

0:05:17.560 --> 0:05:20.160
<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:23.000
<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:31.679
<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.

0:05:32.279 --> 0:05:35.200
<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i

0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:38.760
<v Speaker 1>heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:39.640
<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.