When
I have a heart-wrenching thing happen, like my Mommom’s passing on Cinco de
Mayo, I swear it’s the universe reminding me to be better.
To
be a better friend, a better daughter, a better companion, a better sister, but
most importantly… a better human.
I
get so caught up in plans that my life slowly transitions to auto-pilot. I
forget that I have to TRY, that I need to put in the work in order to make my
relationships genuine and real.
Fortunately,
I know I am not the only one that struggles with this. I think we all tend to
go on autopilot when life gets busy.
Over
the weekend, my brother’s girlfriend, Cortney, made a comment in response to
who-know-what, “I don’t want to be so busy that I have to multi-task.” (I probably
butchered it, but it was something to that effect.) And I don’t even know if
she meant anything by it, but I loved the principle behind it.
Every
morning on my way to work I do my make-up, eat breakfast, and drive to work all
at the same time. It is a busy 10 minutes, and I would say that most of my day
is something similar to this, always doing a few things at once.
When
did becoming a multi-tasker become a skill that was held in high regard? Now, I’m
realizing that this may be my worst trait.
I
need to take more time to and put forth more effort into the things and people
I love. Singular effort, none of this multi-tasking
nonsense. I need to call that family member on their birthday instead of a meaningless
FaceBook post; I need to spend time, not just in passing when it’s convenient, but
actually take time to be with friends that I hold near and dear, friends that
are worth keeping around.
Life
is happier when you are doing those things, anyway. My load feels a bit lighter,
friendships feel a little stronger, my family feels a little bit closer, and I feel
a little bit more whole.
Despite
how sad it is to lose a loved one, I think they leave you at the most
perfectly, planned out moment; a moment when you need to be reminded about how
precious life is.
