Wise Girls

We are binging on all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls. When the four-part series revival came out last year, I was intrigued, mainly because my friend Lianne is such a huge fan of the show. It’s to the point that she couldn’t bring herself to watch Bad Santa because Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham plays a sexy bartender, nothing like young mom Lorelai Gilmore. 

Gilmore Girls (2000-2007) centres on Lorelai and her daughter, whom she also named Lorelai but calls Rory, and their lives in the small town of Stars Hollow. Lorelai grew up in a repressed and wealthy household where she was expected to attend Yale, marry well and produce perfect grandchildren. Instead, she got pregnant at sixteen, ran away and raised Rory in her own quirky, loving way. We meet them when Rory is sixteen and dreaming of going to Harvard.

Photo by Genevieve via Flickr

Fast-forward 3.25 seasons when Rory is finally starting University. Lorelai drives her there with a borrowed truck that looks like a less dramatic version of the Beverly Hillbillies moving to Hollywood. Rory rushes into her dorm room and excitedly hurries through the process of moving in. Lorelai stops her and demands that she has a do-over. They go back outside the room, and start over, but this time Rory takes the time to drink it all in and notice everything. It was a terrific lesson in living in the moment.

Not that long ago I remarked to a friend that the rest of our lives will probably be composed of saying, “that was HOW long ago?” And it’s because we didn’t notice when it was happening. John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”  I vividly remember rushing through things – radio shows, nights out, family events, seminars – not consciously thinking they weren’t part of my life, but imagining that I’d get to the important stuff when they were finally over. It sounds foolish when it’s laid out that way, but I don’t think I’m alone.

We don’t all have Lorelai to remind us to go back out and come into the room again, but we can make every entrance from now on one that’s mindful and awake, and slow things down while we still can.

6 thoughts on “Wise Girls”

  1. I love this post. Now if you could send me daily reminders to do this I’d appreciate it ?

    It’s all so very true-but so hard to remember when life is so busy and full.

  2. So very true and the older I become the truer it is. Sad but thanks for the reminder, I do try to tell my girls this alot…..enjoy the moments!

  3. Reminders are key. I wish there was a mailing list or something you could subscribe to that sends reminders. A little tidbit like the one you wrote here that centres your focus when you need it. Hey-want to start a business with me?? ?

    1. Where in the world would you find the time? I love reading your posts about/with your kids. You seem “present” to me, with the thousands of little ways you make ordinary stuff seem special for them. (But I’m in!)

  4. I try my best to be present and make each day matter. Some days (weeks??) are harder than others. Reading little stories/tidbits helps me to refocus. Sometimes it’s friends sending me silly inspirational texts, sometimes it’s a conversation with a patient, but whatever it is – if I try to let it make an impression it helps! I don’t know where I’d find the time either, but it would be fun and therapeutic too!!

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