FM: A Small Ritual of Belonging

Saj
Jul 18
2 min read

I don’t remember when it started.

Somewhere along the way, maybe years ago, I began calling, “Oh, we’re having an FM—Family Moment.” Just like that. A throwaway line at first. Casual, small, easy to miss.

But it stuck.

And as things that stick tend to do, it began to mean more than it seemed. It wasn’t a formal thing—no grand dinner, no camera-ready gathering. It was just when we all, by some quiet magnetic pull, happened to find ourselves in the same room. Together.

Tonight, at 12:05 AM, it happened again.

My two children—fifteen and twelve now—and I.

Five cats too.

We were simultaneously migrating to my bedroom without a plan or purpose.

We joked. We laughed. We lingered.

We stayed thirty minutes, maybe more.

Not doing much of anything—but everything.

This is what I’ve come to understand:

These moments are an oasis. A silly, sacred space we stumble into but can always name. And that naming makes all the difference. “FM.” That’s all it takes.

When the world becomes loud, sharp, and fast, a little ritual can save you.

A ritual doesn’t need candles and robes. It can be a whispered phrase. A private joke. A name you give to the inexplicably beautiful pause when people who love each other sit in one room with no agenda.

If I dare to offer guidance—and today, maybe I do—here it is:

Create something silly that matters.

Something yours.

Something effortless and utterly profound.

It doesn’t have to look like my “FM.”

Maybe for you, it’s a made-up song before bedtime.

A thumb war before homework starts.

A shared look you call “the knowing glance.”

A toast every time you drink tea.

Or a tradition to sit together for no reason when the clock strikes some odd hour.

Call it what you like—but call it something.

That’s where the magic lives. In the naming. In the repetition. In allowing yourself to recognize when something ordinary becomes extraordinary simply because you paid attention.

I didn’t plan this little oasis in my life. I just noticed it and named it.

You can too.

Because when you give moments like these a name, they become easier to return to. And life, I think, is just a string of these small, silly, sacred returns.

Luv

Saj