There is great power in repetition, both within our lives and across generations.  Today's mindful parenting exercise is designed for parents and child caregivers who have the opportunity to say "good night" to their child.  For those who are physically separated from their child, imagining their child is a wonderful substitute.

Tonight, as you walk out of your child's room or poke you head into your child's room to say "good night," open your awareness to the magic of the moment.  How many nights have passed with this act tending toward routine, or at least becoming a beautiful moment lasting but a flicker of an instant?  Instead, breathe deeply and bask in the waning light.

As you do so, expand your consciousness and sense the time when your parents would say "good night" to you, all those years ago.  Breathe deeply as you visualize and hear your parents.  (Perhaps other senses are awakened.)  If you have difficulty remembering, allow you imagination to fill in the gaps.  Then, float across time even further and sense your grandparents saying "good night" to your parents when they were children.  Smile and consider the impermanence of the moment -- the magic residing in the here and now.  

This exercise highlights the speed with which time passes and the power of the present moment.  At your child’s door or bedside, you are present with your child.  Be truly present.

Feel the light switch or door knob in you hand.  Observe the light in the room change.  Feel your toes in your shoes as they shuffle along the floor.  Study your child's form and movement. Breathe in every precious morsel.

Soon enough, your child will be doing the same – saying “good night” to their child. Then, so too will their child.  There is no need for” soon enough” to be too soon.  Breathe deeply and walk slowly as you cherish these moments -- and not just every now and then.