As told by my daughter to her two oldest little ones (the third was napping.)

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Isabelle and her little brother named Isaac. (And the little girl boldly stated her name, “ISABELLE!” When it was her name, and the little boy shouted his name “ISAAC!” When it was his name.). And the little girl and the little boy played and they played and they played and they played while their mommy had to run to the store and do some errands. Their Oma stayed home with them so that they could be safe while mommy was away. And then their mommy came home from running to the store for her errands. And the little girl and the little boy greeted their mommy with enthusiasm and excitement when she came home. They said, “Mommy we’re hungry!” “MOM!” “Mom, I’m hungry!” “Mom!” “Mom, i need a snack-Mom, I need a snack, Mom I need a snack!” And so their mom gave them a snack. And then they said, “Mom, I’m thirsty!” “I’m thirsty MOM!” “Mom, I need a drink!” And so their mom got them each a cup of thir favorite juice. At this point the little boy and the little girl both shouted “APPLE!” Then, the mommy sat down in her chair to rest for a spell and tell her little munchkins a short story. And the little girl laughed. And the little boy laughed. And they giggled, and they giggled, and they giggled until the story was all done, and the snack was all done, and the drink cups were all empty. The End. At this point the little girl and the little boy both parroted in unison, “THE END!” And they ran off to play again.

When I heard my daughter tell her children “The Story of Now!” I was really so impressed. No, it did not take imagination, but yet it did. And the five minute rest that she gave herself to pay some mindful attention to her little ones as they grow and live was so cute. I just loved that moment being a part of their living room furniture and hearling their glee and giggles.

How many of us take the time to really be in the moment? Do we really focus on living NOW? What story does my life of now have to tell? Am I living for me, for others, for the future, for the past? Am i really living right now in what I am doing? Or am I so distracted by all the voices calling out top me that I can’t even smell the coffeee on my mug warmer?

So, today, I will try to be more aware of now. I will try to live today.y

And if you have kids and grandkids, try telling them “The Story of Now” sometime and see how well they take it. Enjoy living today.