So last Tuesday morning I was scrambling eggs when the smoke alarm went off. Again. Because I forgot the damn toast under the broiler. All I could think was: Seriously? This crap again? It felt like one more stupid chore pile in an endless loop of making breakfasts, doing laundry, and scrolling through feeds that left me feeling… nothing much.
Then that old Trace Adkins song “You’re Gonna Miss This” popped into my head – probably from some random reel I scrolled past. The title just stuck, bouncing around while I waved a towel at the shrieking alarm. Got me wondering: Am I actually missing “this”? Like, any of this? Right then, standing in my kitchen smelling burnt bread? It felt impossible. But it bugged me. So I decided to try something different.
My Messy Little Experiment
For one week, I challenged myself to pay different attention. Not some deep meditation guru thing. Just simple stuff anyone can do. No apps, no fancy journals. Here’s what I actually did:
- Stopped Trying To Fix Every Damn Feeling: Normally, if I felt bored washing dishes? I’d blast music or call someone. Instead, I just stood there. Felt the hot water. Listened to the clinking plates. Watched bubbles pop. Didn’t run from the quietness. Weirdly… it got less awful.
- Called My Mom Without An Agenda: Usually, our calls are bullet points: “Kids ok?” “Yep.” “Work?” “Busy.” “Okay bye.” Brutal. This time? I didn’t hang up after those bits. Left space. Asked “What smells good over there?” She talked about baking bread for the neighbor whose dog died. Felt way more real than a dozen “fine, you?” texts.
- Stuffed My Phone In The Junk Drawer For One Hour After Work: Seriously, into the drawer with the tangled chargers and dead batteries. Sat outside instead. Didn’t do anything special. Saw a squirrel stuff its face with birdseed. The light changed on the trees. Breathed air that didn’t smell like stale coffee and stress sweat from my office chair.
- Listened Like I Was Gonna Be Tested: Talking with my kid about his Lego build. Instead of half-reading Twitter while nodding? I put my whole body facing him. Asked stupid questions like “What’s the worst possible trap door in that fortress?” The way his eyes lit up explaining his booby trap? Way better than any curated parenting moment.
- Gave Myself Permission To Suck At Remembering: I didn’t suddenly achieve enlightenment because I smelled dish soap intensely. Half the time I forgot I was doing this experiment! When I remembered later? Instead of beating myself up for failing? I’d stop. Think: “Ok, what do I remember about standing at the coffee maker this morning?” Sometimes the answer was just “The mug was hot.” But hey, it’s something.
Guess What Happened?
No magical life transformation. Let’s be real. Burnt toast still sucks. Work emails stayed frustrating. But… a bunch of little moments jumped out at me, like weird pop-ups my brain finally decided to save:
The exact warm smell hitting my face when I opened the dishwasher right after the cycle finished. The sound of my neighbor whistling (badly) while bringing in his trash cans. How my coffee actually tasted kinda nutty on Wednesday morning instead of just being brown caffeine juice.
The real kicker? That boring laundry pile I started the week cursing? Folding my kid’s ridiculous dinosaur socks on Friday… I caught myself smiling. Not because folding socks is fun. But because, for a split second, I actually saw that sock. The goofy T-Rex print. How it’s gotten smaller since we bought it. And boom, that dumb Trace Adkins song echoed: “You’re gonna miss this…“
It clicked: It’s not about making every single second Instagram-magical. That’s impossible nonsense. It’s about grabbing a few handfuls of your actual life as it rushes past. Letting simple stuff – the warmth, the smell, the dumb joke – actually land. Doesn’t need poetry. Doesn’t need fixing. Just noticing it while it’s happening. Because yeah… the burnt toast alarm will eventually go silent. And maybe, just maybe, you might miss the chaotic mess it was part of.