Getting Real, for Real

This was supposed to be a blog post about when something “gets real” for you. You know, that moment when the thing you signed up for in life becomes more clearly focused. In that split-second, everything changes. , The enormity of the task feels vivid, almost overwhelming. Inevitably that translates to, “What am I going to do?”

I was going to write about booking my hotel in Kona for next year’s big race. How “real” it felt to see that reservation confirmation and know why I need it.

Alas, my blog post got interrupted minutes into beginning it. Ayla was whimpering from the bedroom, and I went in to check on her. Her little eyes were wide-open. She wasn’t tired.

I scooped Ayla up and she snuggled right up on me. After a belch, toot and sneeze (not kidding), Ayla fell asleep on me for about 15 minutes. I felt her practically say to me, “I missed you today. I want some quality time.” No later than two minutes after I sensed that, Steph walked into the room and saw what was happening.

“I think she wants quality time with her daddy,” my wife said.

Well, that was weird. And this is why we’re married.

My point is this. We can book hotel rooms a year out for a race and think something “just got real.” We can obsess about a race a year from now, or a meeting a week from now, an interview in two weeks, or a workout tomorrow.

Sometimes though, what’s happening right underneath us, NOW, that’s what’s most important. And we could miss it.

Everything is “real.” But not all things are important. Or even relevant. That’s the real stuff that matters.

Knowing what’s truly real might be the difference between a good day and a bad one. A good choice and a bad one. A life well-lived, in the present, versus a life wondering what could, should or might be — or might have been.

You may not have a baby right now. But hopefully the thing calling out to you in your mind right now to pay attention is something truly worth nourishing. Take the time to hear the cry if it’s healthy, and snuggle in that presence.

And if it’s just a metaphorical hotel reservation for something far, far away, recognize that too.