By Jan Penton-Miller

Lazy me. I am still in my slippers, my hair is a mess, and the morning is quickly flying toward afternoon. There are many things I need to accomplish, but I wouldn’t give anything for the moments that threw me a little behind on my to do list today.

   The heart to heart and prayer time with my Tennessee girl is always a welcome part of any new day. It is truly a joy to have my daughter/friend close to my heart. Our relationship wasn’t always rosy. In fact, during her teenage years it was decidedly rocky! Our sweet love and friendship is a testimony of what prayer and tenacity will do.

I’m thinking a reader might conjure up a little teenage angst and a mom wringing her hands, but that isn’t even close to the path we walked. None of us have a handbook on how to raise kids, but teenagers grow up and the challenges of the past become a faded memory.

Another wanted distraction was a morning call from my son who lives close by.

“Morning, Mom. How about toast and scrambled eggs?”

“Sure son. I’ll have it ready in a sec. Come on over.

I began to whisk a little half n half into a bowl with the eggs. Then in the middle of what I was doing Mike called from somewhere in Texas to check in. He and all the other hard working truckers like to hear a friendly voice from home as they roll along in their eighteen-wheelers trying to keep shelves stocked across the land.

We all know women particularly get the art of multitasking, and soon breakfast was finished. My son set off to begin his workday, and I hung up the phone with Mike.

A friend from Tennessee sent me an email, and I responded to her since it had been a while since we conversed. It only took a minute, but the minutes were adding up. I began to feel pressure to stop all my piddling and get down to business.

Then I remembered I needed to call one of my friends. She had two of her people in two different hospitals for small surgeries this morning. Is any surgery small if it happens to someone you love? I didn’t do much to help; just grabbed a little lunch for them and hurried home because I really did have things to do today.

When I finally sat down to complete my column I realized that those beautiful distractions were exactly what I should have been doing this morning. They weren’t in my way; they were and are the very things that make my life rich. Anyone can scramble for more stuff and more money. 

We all have goals and things we want to accomplish, but our relationships are worth more than anything. I realized that my morning piddling was actually getting down to business. I was taking care of the business of life.