Do you ever take the time to stop, reflect and celebrate your wins, big or small? Often we are so busy doing or tuning out (on the phone or through TV) that we miss opportunities to reflect and celebrate the journey. This time to reflect and celebrate is important because it allows us to live in the here and now, to live in gratitude and to celebrate and cherish the joy and our success.
Last Thursday I took time to reflect and celebrate. This was the first time I had done so since Bailey was born and it was AMAZING! I went to a small Italian restaurant in Oakland and treated myself to lunch, wine and dessert. As I teacher, we never get the chance to eat out for lunch or to have a slow and relaxing lunch. As a mother, my meals are rarely peaceful because I am constantly tending to Baileyś needs as we eat. So taking myself out to a peaceful and quiet lunch was so beautiful. Between eating, I journaled. I reflected and celebrated all of the success, gratitude, growth through struggle and blessings I had encountered over the past year and a half. It was a tranquil and filling process that truly set my soul on fire.
The date of my celebration was significant because I had just finished finals and grading for my 1st semester kids. Since I hustled to get their grades done, I had granted and gifted myself Friday and Monday off. Friday I didn’t have to go to school because I don’t have a 5th and 6th period since I am only 80%. Monday was a teacher work day and since I had finished my grading, I didn’t need to go to school. Bailey would be in daycare both days so I would get my first full days to myself in months! I was supposed to have two days over Winter Break but then RSV and the hospital. All of my hard work and the coming two days off were reason enough to celebrate. Normally I would have taken this celebration time to tackle something on my to do list or zone out while watching Greyś Anatomy but this time I chose celebration and reflection. This act completely filled and lit me up. Now I plan on doing this every semester and may increase to every month.
So when was the last time you paused and truly reflected and celebrated? There are so many ways to celebrate but I think it is important to incorporate reflection. I used to celebrate all the time by buying myself a cookie or Starbucks but that is only temporary gratification. So make space to celebrate and reflect on your journey, growth, resilience, blessings and gratitude. I promise you, it is worth it.
