Enjoying Daily Detours

This morning, my husband called and needed a HUGE favor. He'd accidentally forgotten a critical item necessary for work - his NEXTEL. We discussed several scenarios, but eventually decided to meet him halfway to hand-off his extra work phone.

This week is chock-full of appointments, meetings, and field trips. I already had a jam-packed schedule for the day. In order to fit this emergency errand into the schedule, it forced me to bump my gym time. I was frustrated and irritated about having to eliminate my gym time. But good grief. The man has bailed me out of countless situations. He rarely asks for a favor, so I just needed to "get over it." (FYI: This is one of my mother's FAVORITE sayings. I've heard it numerous times over the years. It's posted on the fridge, on her calendar, on her mirror. I'm surprised it's not tattooed on my forehead, considering all the times she's used that phrase with me.)

After I met my husband, I was near one of my favorite stores, but it didn't open for another 30+ minutes. Since my 3-year-old son was STARVING (less than an hour post-breakfast), we dipped into a nearby coffee shop. I bought him a giant chocolate chip cookie - along with my LARGE latte.

As we sat at the coffee shop enjoying our delicious treats, I was surprised at how adventurous I felt. We'd gone completely off-schedule into an entirely new zone: leisure. Typically, I would've ruined the time with a sour attitude (mourning the loss of my gym time and the interruption to my day). But instead, we had a few  moments to just linger and enjoy. I patiently sipped my coffee while he happily chomped away at his giant cookie. I marveled at his developing sense of humor as we people watched.

I also had the stark realization that in less than 18 short months, both of my preschoolers will be in school full-time. The opportunities for these impromptu, one-on-one moments will nearly vanish.

I doubt he'll even remember this day, but I won't forget this sweet, precious moment together. And even though I didn't get my heart-rate up at the gym, I'm fairly certain my heart grew this morning.