Tumbuh Kembang JAGOAN-JAGOANKU

By Julie Jordan Scott

My day started merrily today. Please read that again, with your tongue firmly entrenched in your cheek. Yes, my day started merrily today. I’ll put it in a nutshell for you. Sam, my five-year-old, is having challenges with his digestive system.

When it looked like it was a temporary challenge, I lit a candle and set it on my entry way altar. I recited my most recent quote-to-live-by, “My work is to love.” Mary Oliver said it so it must be true.

Sam made another mess which I cleaned, mopped and scrubbed up.

“My work is to love.” I said with a minor amount of vigor. “My work is to love.” In cleaning up like this, I was loving my family and myself. I walked down the hallway, past the bathroom, and there was another surprise for me. I went to fetch the mop and bucket from the kitchen. I caught Katherine’s eye and said, “I love being a Mom when you guys are sick.”

My wise fifteen-year-old daughter replied, “You love being a Mom all the time.” I trudged down the hall while she continued. “Can you imagine life without us?”

She had a valid point there. I could not imagine life without them.

Sam had followed me to the bathroom. He felt no guilt or remorse for adding to my to-do list for the day. That is how it should be. He shouldn’t feel remorseful for having digestive problems. It is a normal part of life and “my work is to love.”

I mopped it up and lifted Sam onto the counter which I disinfected before and after he sat there. I got a washcloth and warmed it with water and washed him off, too. He laughed, not at all upset at any part of his day. I smiled at my precious boy and remembered, “My work is to love.”

I returned to prior task with a smile on my face. I looked up from my writing to take a breath when I caught a glimpse of it. My altar. I can see my altar from my desk. It looks so pretty. There is a clock there, a couple candles, an assortment of pinecones, acorns, candles, a sculptured angel, a pomegranate and an empty wine bottle. The “my work is love” candle is giving me a hug from a distance.

Behind me, Sam and Katherine are high-fiving and Emma is sitting at the dining room table, drawing and writing. I can feel my work, my love, filling me. I can not imagine my life without them. I can not imagine my life without my work. Love. Love. Love. Work. Work. Work.

Kahlil Gibran said, “Work is love made visible.”

I agree with my wise friends and my daughter. My most important work, where I make the most significant contribution, is when I love.

© Julie Jordan Scott

Julie Jordan Scott is a Writer, Life Coach, Poet, Speaker, Actor, Director and Mom Extraordinaire whose deepest passion
is helping people - like you - discover and live with passion. Call 661.444.2735 to book your complimentary coaching session or visit www.5passions.com for plentiful resources to live a passion-rich life.