Remembering Gratitude through the Storms

I walked into yoga today feeling pretty low and full of anxiety. The tropical storm that blew through Atlanta on Sunday and Monday had knocked out power across so much of the city that my son's school had been closed all week. Most schools around metro Atlanta were back in session by today, but Dekalb county still had at least 30 schools without power and too many downed trees and downed power lines, wreaking too much havoc for schools to open back up just yet.

Oh how this stressed out my posse of "mom friends" as we tried to juggle working full-time, running errands and doing all the STUFF, while suddenly not having a few hours during the day when our kids were at school to get it all done. So all week, we’ve traded off play dates, sending our children from one house to the next, to play with each other, so that each of us moms could take turns having at least a couple of hours to do… IT ALL.

So I walked into yoga today (after I dropped my son off at one of the carousel of play dates) a little bit more than just stressed out; I was feeling totally depleted.

But as I sat in class and traded stories with my yoga teacher and fellow yogis about power outages and food having to be transferred to freezers across town in order to be saved, and people in harder hit areas losing their cars and their homes, and people in our own state having thousands of dollars of damage from falling trees, people even losing their lives to the storm… I remembered really quickly that what I’ve been dealing with this week is nothing compared to what others are facing. And I realized as I placed my prayer hands at my heart and Om’ed together with the class that I needed to set my intention on GRATITUDE. And remember how grateful I should be that we never lost power, that I have been able to do laundry all week, take hot showers, and above all that my loved ones are all safe.

I left class feeling restored, with my perspective completely flipped and feeling so much more grateful for EVERYTHING.

Grateful to have such a joyful boy who wants to play with me all the time. Grateful to have such kickass friends who are willing (at the drop of a hat) to trade off play dates for an entire week. Grateful that I have a Starbucks a half a mile from my house, where I can hit up the drive-through and be greeted by Keith, who is the friendliest and happiest barista you'll ever meet, who knows my name and greets me like a long-lost friend and who always remembers that I’d like one of those little cardboard “sleeves” for my drink, without me ever having to ask even though my drink is iced and not hot (a little Starbucks intel from a regular… iced drinks don’t automatically come with sleeves, but I am NEEDY and I don’t like my hands getting COLD, but never fear, Keith has me covered. EVERY time.). Thank you, Keith. It’s the little things that make a big difference.

It feels a bit like magic to me that after just one hour of yoga and inner stillness, deep breathing and a focus on gratitude, that I can reboot my spirit and be so happy about a coffee sleeve.

I'll sign off now to go pick my son up from a play date and take him to Hippo Hopp, where they have free wifi (so grateful!!), and where he’ll be entertained for at least a couple of hours (yes!!) by bounce houses and air hockey and GIANT Lego blocks. And I’ll bring my laptop and try to work and pay bills, and organize my accounting books, and think about what we’ll do for dinner, and try to keep this peaceful feeling and enjoy the sounds of happy, shrieking kids, bumping music, and bouncing all around me (“Happy Hopping!").

Hopefully I'll keep smiling through it all and remember to stay grateful for the lights being on, Hippo Hopp being open and my Iced Vanilla Soy Latte (with a sleeve).

Namaste.

#gratitude #intention #infinityyoga #atlanta #hippohopp #yogamom #breathe