Excuse me, I'm trying to Live in the Moment

Since the birth of my first child, people have told me "enjoy it while it lasts, it goes by so fast!"

Well that first year with a baby didn't feel so fast at the time. But when we approached T-bone's first birthday, I knew what 'they' were talking about - that year flew by so fast our heads are still spinning. In fact the last 2 years are a complete blur.

The first years with small children are chock full of so many golden life nuggets its hard to savor any one moment. That, combined with the time-warp effect of sleep deprivation, make days, weeks, even months munge together and suddenly you're startled to discover that not only is winter over, but it's a year later and time marches on....

So yeah, time flies when you have kids. I think time flies in general as you get older, the relative length of one year being a smaller and smaller fraction of your overall life and what not...But does everyone, every stranger on the street feel compelled to remind me of this? Do I need to be reminded constantly that my children will grow up at light speed?

I used to be touched by these comments. If a man on the street said "they'll be off to college before you know it!" My heart would ache and I would respond with something meaningless but polite like "don't I know it!" And I felt thankful to be reminded to enjoy my children.

But today it occurred to me: I already am enjoying my children. In fact I was doing just that - enjoying my children - this morning. We were out for a pleasant stroll along the harbor when some guy brought me down like a lead zeppelin by saying "before you know it those girls will be back here with their boyfriends!" -- referring to the picturesque spot where we stood by the fishing boats.

It's kind of funny, but nine times out of ten it is a man that is giving this sage advice. Maybe that's because many men of older generations totally skipped out on their kid's childhood, and now regret not being more present when their kids were young, cats-in-the-cradle style? I don't know.

Well, today I decided I would rather not be reminded of the future, thank you very much. I am clearly enjoying my children as I snap their photo with the Pirates mascot in downtown Portland on a sunny Thursday morning. If they don't remind me that this will all be over before I know it, I might actually enjoy The Now even more.

If they really want me to appreciate my children while they are young, a simple "what adorable girls!" or "your beautiful children should be L.L. Bean models!" would suffice. Then I could just smile and say "don't I know it!"