Enjoy the Moments, Don't Wait for the Memories

 

Facebook has a wonderful feature called "Memories" where it calls up your posts from the same date in previous years. As someone who prolifically posts about their family, that means a steady diet of pics with the wife and kids, literally different snapshots in time.

I'm sure that my reaction to these photos is similar to that of other parents. First, that we can scarcely remember our kids being that young. Second, that we ourselves, the adults, looked so much younger then than we do now.

Time is undefeated. The adults age, and the kids grow up. This is natural and good, and I am lucky that for my family I am hopeful that life will just keep getting better and the future is bright.

But, "Memories" on Facebook is also a stark reminder to enjoy the moment. We will never be as young as we are now. If we are feeling old - which I do every morning I wake up to the normal aches and pains of a middle-aged man - we will feel even older in 5 years, 10 years, and 20 years. It's fine to joke about our getting older, but if all it is is ungratefulness, I can tell you that the version of us that is lucky enough to be alive 30 years from now would kill to go back in time and have today's body. That's a helpful cue for me to be thankful for the health and vitality I do have in the present day.

And, we will never get to enjoy our kids at exactly this age ever again. They too only age in one direction, so today is the only day we can interact with them at this exact age. To give a contemporary examples, there are days when Asher's bedtime is exhausting for me, if he is being difficult or I've had a long day. But I know that it won't take long for me to think back to when I got to have a bedtime routine with him and think to myself that I would pay a lot of money for one more chance to do it again. It helps me not only to survive the night but embrace it.

A life well lived is full of good memories. The best of which are those in which we were fully present to enjoy them in the moment. It's what I try to do every day.