Holiday shopping in department stores is not something I enjoy, especially around the holidays. My husband was gone for the weekend, and my son was in desperate need of a new pair of jeans (he had managed to rip the knees of three pairs in two weeks). So we thrust ourselves into the throng of unnerved holiday shoppers, despite my dislike for all things consumerism around this time of year.

We rushed up the escalator to avoid the jammed floors. A lady pushed Sophia off at the top, which I did not see. Had I witnessed the pushy woman, I would have told her alllll about my upcoming book, The Power of Slow!

At the top of the next elevator, we saw a young man struggling with the contents of his broken paper grocery bag. Spring onions were getting sliced by the stairs, and no one stopped to help him. I pulled the newly purchased jeans from the bag and handed it to him.

“Would you like this?” I asked him. A bright grin beamed from his dread-lock framed face. “Thank you!” My kids stood in awe.

“You are soooo nice, Mama!” they cheered. A lump entered my throat. I hadn’t thought twice about helping someone in need, and they noticed. They actually noticed!

Normally, it feels as though our kids pick up on all the wrong things we do: the white lie on the phone about why we cannot attend yet another Tupperware party; squeezing a lemon at the traffic light; cursing when you bang against a lampost with your fender. But there are also golden moments when they see you do something right. The next day they reminded me that they wanted to give away some of their toys to children in need. We packed it together, sealing it for delivery the next day.

During the holiday season, we are particularly susceptible to forgetting the importance of balance and that our lives are a journey, not a race. Thankfully, my children are a constant reminder to pack my passport to Planet Slow and to leave that race number behind.