By Julie Jordan Scott
My day started merrily today. Please read that again, with your tongue firmly entrenched in your cheek. Yes, my day started merrily today. I’ll put it in a nutshell for you. Sam, my five-year-old, is having challenges with his digestive system.
When it looked like it was a temporary challenge, I lit a candle and set it on my entry way altar. I recited my most recent quote-to-live-by, “My work is to love.” Mary Oliver said it so it must be true.
Sam made another mess which I cleaned, mopped and scrubbed up.
“My work is to love.” I said with a minor amount of vigor. “My work is to love.” In cleaning up like this, I was loving my family and myself. I walked down the hallway, past the bathroom, and there was another surprise for me. I went to fetch the mop and bucket from the kitchen. I caught Katherine’s eye and said, “I love being a Mom when you guys are sick.”
My wise fifteen-year-old daughter replied, “You love being a Mom all the time.” I trudged down the hall while she continued. “Can you imagine life without us?”
She had a valid point there. I could not imagine life without them.
Sam had followed me to the bathroom. He felt no guilt or remorse for adding to my to-do list for the day. That is how it should be. He shouldn’t feel remorseful for having digestive problems. It is a normal part of life and “my work is to love.”
I mopped it up and lifted Sam onto the counter which I disinfected before and after he sat there. I got a washcloth and warmed it with water and washed him off, too. He laughed, not at all upset at any part of his day. I smiled at my precious boy and remembered, “My work is to love.”
I returned to prior task with a smile on my face. I looked up from my writing to take a breath when I caught a glimpse of it. My altar. I can see my altar from my desk. It looks so pretty. There is a clock there, a couple candles, an assortment of pinecones, acorns, candles, a sculptured angel, a pomegranate and an empty wine bottle. The “my work is love” candle is giving me a hug from a distance.
Behind me, Sam and Katherine are high-fiving and Emma is sitting at the dining room table, drawing and writing. I can feel my work, my love, filling me. I can not imagine my life without them. I can not imagine my life without my work. Love. Love. Love. Work. Work. Work.
Kahlil Gibran said, “Work is love made visible.”
I agree with my wise friends and my daughter. My most important work, where I make the most significant contribution, is when I love.
© Julie Jordan Scott
Julie Jordan Scott is a Writer, Life Coach, Poet, Speaker, Actor, Director and Mom Extraordinaire whose deepest passion
is helping people - like you - discover and live with passion. Call 661.444.2735 to book your complimentary coaching session or visit www.5passions.com for plentiful resources to live a passion-rich life.
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