Not a full-on post, but an important note, nonetheless…
Today, I had the pleasure of spending most of the day with my youngest, who just turned six on Friday. We didn’t do anything I would consider all that consequential – jumped on the trampoline, watched “World’s Deadliest Spiders” three times, pretended we were spiders on the trampoline, and then hunted for spiders in the yard.

At the end of the day, as we reclined on the sofa together, watching the creepy arachnid special just one more time, he snuggled his head into the base of my neck and uttered two sentences that utterly floored me:

“You’re the best daddy I could ever ask for. I love spending time with you.”

It wasn’t what we spent time doing together; it was how we spent it and that we were doing it as a team.

Mindfulness requires us to want to be present. Wanting to be present, even when there is something that seems more pressing, is not easy, but can be attained with practice.

The payoff for this mindful presence is impressive, and that one little moment is enough to brink a smile to even the darkest day for me.