Top 3 best days of my life:
My wedding
Henry’s Birthday
Yesterday
Yes, a random Sunday in December makes the list. In the wake of Friday’s school shooting, we, like so many Americans, took ‘off’ yesterday to focus on family. I am not sure that I have ever been so painfully aware of the fragility of life and so cognizant of how quickly everything that I love can disappear. It is sad to me that I need to be reminded to be so utterly grateful, but I guess that is humanity’s great battle, isn’t it? To not get sucked into silly every day battles and stay focused on the present and the big picture?
The reality is that we can only live our lives in the present moment. When we focus on what has happened or what may happen, we’re missing out on the now. We’re missing out on what’s right in front of us. And what’s right there is often pretty amazing – if you just look for the joy.
Yesterday, we spent half an hour chasing Henry up and down this hallway. He crawled back and forth, and handheld step by tiny step, we practiced walking. He traveled from parent to parent, laughing and marveling at his newly-discovered ability to move.
And in those moments, nothing else mattered at all.
My goal is to always remember those thirty minutes. Truly, on my death bed, I hope yesterday is the last thing that I think about. I want so badly to stay in the moment whenever I can. To never again need a tragedy to remind me to be grateful. To be present. To love my family, my friends, and myself in the deepest, truest way that I can…. in the now. This is my life. And really, it’s all I’ve got.
Beautiful.