This turtle always makes me smile.
It’s July and I feel like my summer has been a whirlwind so far. My extended family and my two teens have kept me on the run. As I was stealing a moment this morning on the porch, a moment before 7:00 AM, when the earth is still and quiet and the kids aren’t awake yet, I was thinking about a child I worked with last year when I was subbing.
He was famous for not wanting to walk from one side of the building to the other. He would want to stop and get a drink of water or sit down to rest. These were all just stalling tactics, but it drove the teachers crazy. (which was likely part of the reason he was doing them). I told him one day that he was in turtle mode, that turtle mode was slow and boring. I told him he needed to switch to rabbit mode. How fast could we get to where we were going?
He took the bait. He loved switching to rabbit mode and I would count how long it took us to get to the next class.
I feel like I am in rabbit mode most of the time. I remember thinking when I was on vacation, that one of the beautiful things about vacation, is not having to constantly be in a hurry. I am trying to make a concerted effort to switch back into turtle mode for July.
It’s hot. Our summer travels are done. Why not?
I started out this morning by piddling around in my garden, cutting things that needed to be cut, watering and taking my time. I had a second cup of coffee on the porch and read a little.
Of course, when my daughter arrived home from her sleepover, it was ninety miles a minute talking. Then my son came running downstairs with his backpack telling me that I had to run him over to his friend’s house at that very moment. Never mind that he hadn’t brushed his hair or teeth or had breakfast, and it was lunch time.
I calmly told him to make a sandwich and then, to brush his teeth. I sent my daughter upstairs to take a shower and work on her summer AP assignment. I got some watermelon out of the fridge to snack on, until my son was finished. We can still get everything done, but do we have to hurry? I delivered him to his friend’s house and all was well in his world.
The Bible tells us there is “a time for every activity under heaven.” Sometimes we need to rest and sometimes we need to simply slow down, remembering that we will get it done eventually and if not today, then tomorrow is another day.
I’m aiming for turtle mode for the remainder of July. It’s too hot to hurry in July anyway. Anyone want to join me?
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂