Today I was looking for something in an old blog of mine, my first blog called Just A Minute. Old being relative really because it was only 5 years ago that I last posted there. But when I read my words, 5 years felt like a lifetime ago. 5 years ago I was married. 5 years ago I had a brand new teen at the top of the list and a toddler at the bottom. 5 years ago our main concern was which park to hit on Friday after school. And nobody was asking to borrow the car.
Once again I'm reminded that time flies. And this time flying is more of a feeling than an actual thing you can grab, though I keep trying. From this feeling came my latest book, Look At Us Now; A Creative Family Journal, just released from Tarcher Perigee. Because maybe, just maybe, by filling out a page here and there and capturing some of the small moments that make up the big life, we'll be able to pause long enough in the moment and appreciate where we are right now.
I'll pause today and take stock of who we are and what we love and where we want to go. I'll shed a sentimental tear when I look back on these words below of just a few short years ago. And I'll try to remember to remember that where we are right now is only for right now. And now. And now. Hopefully this pausing will bring with it some appreciation too...
May 2011
Today I have no answers. Only questions. One particular question actually. One question that I feel like I've been asking for a long time and only occasionally do I feel like I have the answer.
When will I learn?
When will I learn that when the 13 year old says I need a few minutes to calm down, to actually allow her those few minutes.And by doing so I can avoid a lot of confrontation.
When will I learn that when the 4 year old is running around like the proverbial headless chicken that it usually means he is either hungry or tired.
When will I learn that the 8 year old needs way more sleep than the 11 year old and that even though she's mostly extrovert she also needs to spend some time alone filling up?
When will I learn that the 11 year old doesn't need to be told to say thank you. That actually he is quite a polite little lad and has a good handshake and even looks people in the eye without being told to do so.
Sometimes I need to step in. But other times I need to just back the heck off.
When will learn how to differentiate?
When will I learn that a lesson learned one day might need to be learned again and again and again?
I'm just gonna take it day by day by day by day by day.
