I don’t quite recall when it happened, but I recently realized that at some point I forgot to stop and smell the roses.

I am certain many of us are guilty of the same. Sometimes we are so bound by schedules and the routine of the day, we simply forget.

This past weekend was a great reminder for me to be really intentional about doing so, especially in the midst of all this change and transition.

I watched as my children ran on the beach, waves coming in ever so slightly. As they chased seagulls and giggled uncontrollably, I stopped for a moment and had to catch my breath. It was one of those times as a mother that will forever be burned into my memory. The smell. The scene. The sound.

In that moment, I was fully present.

As the weekend came to a close and the normalcy of another week set it, I stopped again and closed my eyes to remember exactly how that moment felt.

What is it about life, careers, the grind, parenting, marriage, that leave so many of us going through the motions each day?  We do the same thing day in and day out, forgetting to stop, to slow down.

The smell of our children’s hair as we hug them goodbye. Waking up to embrace your spouse, thankful to have another day together. A call to your parents simply to say I love you. A text to a friend to tell them you are thinking of them.

The simple things we allow ourselves to do when we slow down and step out of the cycle.

We live in a complex world, with complex problems. The thing is, those problems will always be there if you choose to place them first and allow them to become central to how you choose to live your life.

One of my favorite sayings is, “In the blink of an eye, everything can change. Forgive often and love with all your heart. You never know when you may not have that chance again.”

So, here we are having exchanged the lights of the city for the whistles of the wind between the trees. A far cry from what the last 15 years have looked like. For the first time in a long time, I am reminding myself to stop and smell the roses.

Don’t let the moments pass you by. Allow yourself to stop. Allow yourself to slow down. You might just be amazed at what you find.

In that moment as I watched my children, I found a piece of myself that had been lost for the last several years.

This week, I challenge all of you to stop, smell the roses, and find that little piece of yourself that has been ignored.

For me, it was wonderment and amazement at the beauty that is life. It took my children chasing a bunch of birds on rocks, hoping they wouldn’t get pooped on, for me to remember what that felt like.

Hug someone you love. Toast to the week ahead. Coffee in the morning.

Cheers.