Yom Kippur

With Yom Kippur quickly approaching, I thought I would be writing about atonement or guilt, or at the very least, about fasting.  But I find myself compelled by the "Yom" part.  The part that means "day."

My days go very fast.  The morning part, when my time at the gym, waking, feeding, and preparing lunch for 3 kids and getting them all off to school makes 5-8:30 go very fast.  The midday part, when I try to accomplish as much working and looking for work as I can between 8:30 and 3, goes very, very fast.  And the "kids are home" part, from 3:30-10:30 (yes, they stay up too late), when I retrieve and/or transport the kids and get them fed, homeworked, and bedded down, might seem long, but goes so fast, I'm collapsing into bed before I know it.

So for me, this Yom Kippur is about taking a day to slow down and think about the days.  I know I am filling them--I could make long lists of what gets done--but am I filling them with things that will matter a month from now, a year from now, five years from now?

Well, let's see.  Going to the gym--I think that will give me more energy not just today, but a month from now.  And hopefully, a healthier body five years from now.  Getting the kids on their way for the day will mean (I hope) smarter kids, and hopefully, starting (gulp) 4 years from now, good colleges.  Working--particularly if it's on good projects for good people--generates powerful energy for me and for them.  Looking for work, will, I hope, make a difference next month and five years from now in my family's future.  And the interactions I have with my kids--whether it's my high schooler hanging out at the dinner table to talk about her day, or my middle schooler doing a crazy song and dance once she's eaten, or the heart-to-heart talks I have with my third grader right before he goes to bed--there is no question that those things will make memories that will last well beyond five years.

So as I take this Yom Kippur to evaluate my days, while I can say that I'd probably be better off spending a little less time yelling and a lot less time surfing the internet for the next big job lead, I can honestly say that most days are filled with pretty good stuff.  And this Yom Kippur, or five years from now, I wouldn't have it any other way.