Where Does the Time Go?

Can you believe it? Avery is already six months old! That is one thing I notice more with him than I did with any of our other children, the passage of time. It really does go by in a blink. Every second that passes cannot be regained. That's just the way life goes. If you don't pay attention, you will miss it all.

I have to agree with the post over at The Art and Science of Parenting. Dad states that, "Sure, you want to have big adventures with your kids sometimes, but what they will really remember about you is if you were there every day for all of their little adventures..." In my opinion there is no greater gift that we can give our children than our time and attention. Kids just want to be with us. They want our undivided attention. It is not important to them to have an elaborate gift or expensive trip. Spending time with us and having fun is all that matters.

The gift that I've received from having Avery in our lives is the realization of just how important time is. We really have such a short period of time here on this earth, and what do we really do with it? What do we spend our time focusing on? Where does our energy go? What is our attitude like? Life really is made up of all the little things. The big things are fleeting, but little things repeat over and over throughout our entire existence. I am quite certain that we can have a lot more fun, find more enjoyment, and bring more delight to others when we learn to shift our focus to the minute moment. Doing so puts us in the here and now; right exactly where we need to be. I can see no other way to be content than to be present, enjoying each moment as it comes.

Don't get me wrong. I still have goals, I still strive to be a more complete individual, I still have desires, but they are not my primary focus anymore. I'm enjoying the slow life. Despite my desire to live in the country, and put myself in an environment that promotes a much slower paced life, I have discovered that one can live in the city and still find that laid back perspective. It's a choice. Our attitude is up to us. It is not determined by our environment. We are in control of how our attitude effects our environment, not the other way around. Talk about an "ah ha moment"!