"Say 'hey!' It's a good day, even though things aren't goin' my way. Jesus was born and I am saved so, say 'hey,' it's a good day." -Song by FFH
"Carpe Diem!"
There are so many ways of expressing the sentiments above. Each day is a gift from God. We can't live in tomorrow, or yesterday, or in a day several years from now. What we have is today, and to waste it would be sinful!
Damselfly and I went out today. We enjoyed lunch at a local sandwich-and-soup cafe, then spent a lovely hour at a local park playing with our babies. The weather was beautiful, the boys were happy. It was truly a joyous day. We got around to discussing our hopes for the future. "It'll be so much easier when they can walk and run. They'll play on the playground while we chat." "Won't it be great when they can eat table food and we won't have to worry about baby food and bottles anymore?" "I can't wait 'til they can sit and entertain themselves with their toys so we can get things done around the house!"
Then I realized, yes, those things will be great. But why live in the future? This time of helpless-infants-needing-my-undivided-attention-all-freaking-day-long will not last forever. I thought the nights of waking up 3 and 4 times to feed would never end. I thought that never again for the rest of my life would I get a decent night's sleep.
Lancelot now sleeps through the night. Believe it or not, I sometimes miss those quiet moments cuddling in the rocking chair when everything and everyone else is still.
Yes, it will be fantastic when Lancelot can walk and I won't need to carry him all the time. (My chiropractor will also be glad when I don't have to carry him all the time!) But then, a day will come when Lancelot won't want to be held and cuddled. He'll be independent, doing everything by himself.
It will be incredible when he can eat table food. But then, he will make a mess all over the place or be picky or both or more...
Damselfly and I came to to the conclusion that no matter what stage of life our babies are in, there will always be something that we will be looking forward to not having anymore. So rather than always wishing for something better to come along, we must make an effort to enjoy and cherish the wonderful things we have now because soon they will be gone.
This is true not only in our children's lives, but in our own. How often have we said that things will be better when... etc etc etc? There will always be something that could make things better. There will always be something that could make them worse.
Our planet goes through a cycle of four seasons. These four seasons constantly repeat themselves. It's a predictable cycle. Our lives also have seasons, but each season is a new season, one that we will never experience again.
If you knew that you would only be able to play in the snow for one season and never see it again for the rest of your natural life, would you complain about having to put snow tires on your car, or would you be out sledding and building snowmen at every opportunity you had? If summer only came once, would you complain about the heat or would you build sand castles at the beach? Our lives are like this. Every season is unique, and while they inevitably will have negative attributes about them, it is certain that we shall never see this particular season in our lives again. Ever.
Own the day!
Damselfly and I went out today. We enjoyed lunch at a local sandwich-and-soup cafe, then spent a lovely hour at a local park playing with our babies. The weather was beautiful, the boys were happy. It was truly a joyous day. We got around to discussing our hopes for the future. "It'll be so much easier when they can walk and run. They'll play on the playground while we chat." "Won't it be great when they can eat table food and we won't have to worry about baby food and bottles anymore?" "I can't wait 'til they can sit and entertain themselves with their toys so we can get things done around the house!"
Then I realized, yes, those things will be great. But why live in the future? This time of helpless-infants-needing-my-undivided-attention-all-freaking-day-long will not last forever. I thought the nights of waking up 3 and 4 times to feed would never end. I thought that never again for the rest of my life would I get a decent night's sleep.
Lancelot now sleeps through the night. Believe it or not, I sometimes miss those quiet moments cuddling in the rocking chair when everything and everyone else is still.
Yes, it will be fantastic when Lancelot can walk and I won't need to carry him all the time. (My chiropractor will also be glad when I don't have to carry him all the time!) But then, a day will come when Lancelot won't want to be held and cuddled. He'll be independent, doing everything by himself.
It will be incredible when he can eat table food. But then, he will make a mess all over the place or be picky or both or more...
Damselfly and I came to to the conclusion that no matter what stage of life our babies are in, there will always be something that we will be looking forward to not having anymore. So rather than always wishing for something better to come along, we must make an effort to enjoy and cherish the wonderful things we have now because soon they will be gone.
This is true not only in our children's lives, but in our own. How often have we said that things will be better when... etc etc etc? There will always be something that could make things better. There will always be something that could make them worse.
Our planet goes through a cycle of four seasons. These four seasons constantly repeat themselves. It's a predictable cycle. Our lives also have seasons, but each season is a new season, one that we will never experience again.
If you knew that you would only be able to play in the snow for one season and never see it again for the rest of your natural life, would you complain about having to put snow tires on your car, or would you be out sledding and building snowmen at every opportunity you had? If summer only came once, would you complain about the heat or would you build sand castles at the beach? Our lives are like this. Every season is unique, and while they inevitably will have negative attributes about them, it is certain that we shall never see this particular season in our lives again. Ever.
Own the day!
1 comment:
"Our planet goes through a cycle of four seasons. These four seasons constantly repeat themselves. It's a predictable cycle. Our lives also have seasons, but each season is a new season, one that we will never experience again." I love this.
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