Do you ever have a day when you just wake-up and you feel tired- both mentally and physically?  Chris and I have had several of those mornings in the last few weeks.  This morning was one of these mornings.  As Chris and I sipped our coffee this morning, we commented once again on how tired we both feel lately. We both know this is due to the fact that we have not given ourselves permission to play and to really relax.  We briefly tried to bat around a few realistic ideas of what we could do with two kids and weather that keeps remaining in the 30’s during the day before Brady and Abby woke up this morning.  Frankly, we left the conversation this morning a little bummed and a little homesick because we had not come up with any idea that seemed easy and feasible, and we were both missing family and friends back home (I think the Saints going to the Superbowl has added to this!). 

We decided at lunch to go eat at a Louisiana restaurant in our little town in Georgia to remind us of home.  We enjoyed fried crawfish and fried oyster po-boys, and when we came home there was a package from my mom at the door with a Pecan Praline King Cake, a Mardi Gras CD, and a “Who Dat?” cd.  If there was ever a day we needed a reminder of life back home, today was the day!!! We immediately cut the king cake and jammed out to all of our Mardi Gras favorites, while Brady and Abby played with Mardi Gras beads on the floor. 

As I write this now, I notice a considerable change in my spirit.  My energy level has picked up and my feeling of homesickness has dissipated considerably.  I am reminded of how so often it is the little things that people do for us and we do for others that make a difference. My mom’s box of goodies from home had all four of us smiling, laughing, singing, and of course yelling, “Who Dat!”.  Little did she know how much we needed a reminder of home today!  (Thanks, Mom!)

So I ask all of us, what little thing can we do today that will help lift someone’s spirit?  Do we need to make a phone call, write a note, go grab a cup of coffee, tell someone thank-you? 

Becky Eldredge

Becky is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and writer. She is the author of the Busy Lives and Restless Souls (March 2017, Loyola Press) and The Inner Chapel (April 2020, Loyola Press). She helps others create space to connect faith and everyday life through facilitating retreats and days of reflection, through writing, and through spiritual direction. With nearly twenty years of ministry experience within the Catholic Church, Becky seeks to help others discover God at work in the every day moments of people’s lives by utilizing St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and the many gifts that our Catholic faith and Ignatian Spirituality provide.