A weekly dose of possibility and grounded action from Michelle & Kent of the Frenchitivity Family
✨ Opening Quote
“The days are long, but the years are short”
This Week's Direction
The Way We Experience Time
I used a quote in one of our posts this week:
“The days are long, but the years are short.”
I remember the first time I heard it. A fundraising colleague of mine had two young babies at home. The days felt long—and yet, somehow, her babies were growing up incredibly fast.
At the time, I understood what she meant.
Now that I'm a parent, I feel what she meant.
And perhaps getting a little older (and hopefully wiser) has made me think differently about time altogether.
Because I'm beginning to wonder if the quote isn't really about time at all.
Maybe it's about how we experience it.
I was recently introduced to the concepts of Chronos and Kairos time.
Chronos is the time we know well.
Clock time. Calendar time.
What time do we need to leave?
How long will this take?
What's next?
It's quantitative. Measurable. Linear.
And we need it.
Chronos creates structure, routine, and rhythm in our lives.
But Kairos is different.
Kairos is qualitative time.
It's the significance of a moment. The moments when we become so immersed in an experience that the clock almost disappears.
Flow.
Connection.
Presence.
The conversation where no one checks the time.
The lingering sunset.
The unexpected belly laugh.
The weight of your child's head against you.
And lately I've been wondering:
Can we invite more Kairos into our lives?
Especially into our family time?
Maybe some days feel so long because we're trying to fit so much into them.
We have plans, tasks, competing priorities and expectations for what we believe should get done. And when life doesn't cooperate with that plan, our attention gets pulled between what is actually happening and what we think should be happening.
I've noticed this in my own life.
I would rather spend an entire day with my daughter than have only the few hours between school and bedtime.
You would think having more hours together would make the day feel longer. Often, it doesn't.
Those days can feel quick. Connected. Full.
It's actually the days when we don't have plans and I find myself distracted by everything around the house that I notice the tension.
The laundry.
The dishes.
The email.
The thing I meant to finish.
And then I realize:
The moment isn't asking me to accomplish anything.
It's asking me to be in it.
When I can release my expectation of what "needs" to get done, something shifts.
I notice more.
I hear more.
I linger.
I catch the small moments that I might otherwise rush straight through.
Maybe that's Kairos.
And maybe “the days are long, but the years are short” isn't simply a reflection on how quickly our children grow.
Maybe it's also an invitation to consider our priorities—and how we choose to experience the time we're given.
We don't have to make every moment magical.
That's another expectation I'm happy to release.
But perhaps we can become a little more available to the magic that's already there.
I definitely need that reminder.
How about you?
With Gratitude,
Michelle
Frenchitivity
🎙️In Conversation
🎧 The Frenchitivity Podcast: A Taste for Adventure with Megan Hall
A Taste for Adventure with Megan Hall
This week, we sit down with Megan Hall—wine scientist, professor, mother of two, lifelong traveler, and founder of Terroir Adventure Travel. From moving to Tasmania six months after getting married to camping through more than 40 parks and forests—and even taking their kids on a 1,200-mile camping trip through five of France's wine regions—travel has always been part of how Megan and her husband, Alex, experience life together.
We talk about family travel, wine and food science, camping abroad, and Megan's newest adventure: creating intimate, immersive trips that connect travelers more deeply with the people, food, landscape, and culture of a destination. It's a wonderful conversation about curiosity, connection, and what can happen when we choose to truly experience a place rather than simply pass through it.
👉 Listen to the episode here: Episode 27: A Taste for Adventure with Megan Hall
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🧭Compass Shift
This week's reflection:
This week, I'm going to notice one ordinary moment I might normally rush through—and stay in it just a little longer and experience "time" a little differently.
Maybe it's morning coffee. Dinner around the table. Bedtime.
A conversation in the kitchen.
No need to make it special.
Just notice it.
What ordinary moment might you linger in this week?
✨ Closing
Thank you for being here.
We're grateful to be sharing this journey with you.
Michelle & Kent
—
Be bold with your one precious life.
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