We all need a lot more being

I spent this past weekend visiting our daughter at college.

It was a great weekend despite some travel snafus for Pete Carpenter and a downpour on Saturday.

Since we’ve been back, everyone keeps asking:
“What did you do?”

The truth is…
Not much.

And I’ve gotten a few slightly disappointed responses when I share that.

Yes, we did the obligatory Target and Trader Joe’s runs.
And we did go to the football game. (Go Spiders!)

But here’s the thing.
We’re conditioned to do.

To go.
To always be on.

Instead, this weekend, we just got to be.

Be present with our daughter.
Be at lingering meals out.
Be there when she wanted to show us the campus and where she takes classes.

Be good listeners when she shared about her new friends, new classes, and new professors.
Be in the moment as we appreciated her loving her first semester of college.
Be the parents with a hotel room where she could shower without shower shoes (IYKYK!).

She had asked to just be with us this weekend.
So that's what we did.

I came home with a full heart.

It was a great reminder that we all need a little less doing.
And a lot more being.