We’ve had a busy fall. Our constant effort to stay ahead of the ‘stuff monster’ means that the baby things are all packed away and ready to move to a new home where new families will love them. Clothing has been swapped and bought as legs are getting longer so we sought out new jeans and looked for longer sweaters. As tiny bodies grow more food is needed and we’ve discover new likes and dislikes. The teeth falling out of my eldest son’s mouth has changed the look of him forever. He’s a little man now. Neither boy is tiny anymore though the littlest is still my baby. I’m not ready to surrender that yet.
Honestly it feels as though time passes too quickly and as I think back to the days when these boys were teeny tine I realize I wouldn’t go back as I love who they are now but I admit I want to press pause, to sink into the now and really see the colours of our days. The vivid primaries that blend into one another creating swirls of emotion and memory. I want to sink into this moment because one blink and it’s gone, we’re off doing another thing in another time.
Life is moving quickly. Too quickly I might say. In my tidying efforts I found some of my Gran’s secret clippings that were passed along to me. Hidden in the depths of her jewellery drawers they were meant to inspire her living and these clippings remind me of who she wanted to be, what she was striving to do with her moments. One of them says “We have to be willing to sit, be present, be kind and compassionate, and follow the Spirit’s leading.” I like this but it says to turn to pg 15 for more and I do not have page 15. I wish I could call her. To hear what she thought of page 15. It’s hard when there is no more time with the people we love. It’s hard when we want just one more conversation, one more moment to cherish. There isn’t enough time to do everything. There isn’t enough time to love as much as we would like, to live as fully as we should. In these quotes though I see the reminders I need to make the most of it:
Sit.
Be present.
Be kind.
Be compassionate.
Follow.
Life is moving too quickly but I can do these things. I can sit. I can sit and be present. I can practice kindness and compassion. Then after I sit I can go; I can follow. Life is moving quickly but maybe if I live this way I will be present as it moves. I will see those colours I long to engage with and remember more vividly this life as I journey through it. I will sit. Will you sit with me? Shall we watch the colours of life dance and swirl around us as we live present in this moment, aware that it is a gift for which we should be thankful?