My daughter turned 11 this weekend. When we moved to Big Sandy, she had recently celebrated her first birthday. I am scratching my head as to how the time has gone by so quickly and how few years I have left before she is an actual, legal adult and going off to college. I know that this is not a unique realization, and I have been well aware that her growing up was inevitable. Still, every birthday and milestone is a reminder that time is going by. In context of this discussion, I want to point out one of the best decisions I have made as a parent. I left a busier life to take on a slower-paced role where I could take my daughter with me for much of what I do. I chose to live a life that allowed me to bring my little girl along to the office, in home visits, to the nursing home, and all sorts of other places. With milestones passing by faster and faster, I am not looking at the time gone by regretting the lack of investment of myself in my children. I am looking back and smiling about the times when she would stop to visit every senior in the nursing home she knew would give her candy. I am remembering all of the daddy-daughter dates or the times she insisted on cuddling with me in the morning while I read. I chose to savor the time I had with my little girl, spending as much time with her as I could. This is the truth with everything in life. When we choose to be in the moment with our family and at work, we make the best of what we cannot keep forever. This is not a one time decision. We make it every day when we decide to work too long or stare at our phone rather than playing with our kids. Many folks say that as you age, time goes by faster and faster. There is some truth to the idea that our perception of time changes as time goes by. When we experience new or unique things, it creates a memory point in our perception. This slows down how we experience time in our memory. That’s why the last few years have been about a decade long. Everything has been crazy, contentious, different, and weird. Those experiences make time seem slower. Taking the time to do new or different things is the key to keeping time from flying by. To apply this to our families isn’t that difficult. We must make it a point to spent quality time doing things that matter. Talking with our kids, playing games, going to museums, or any other number of things creates memories that slow the passage of time and gives us rich memories to visit afterward. Mind you, my little girl’s childhood will go by faster than I can possibly hope, mainly because it’s such a wonderful and cherished thing. I could not possibly get as much time as I want. Still, I can treat what I have as a gift from God. I can enjoy it. I can treat it like a gift from God. I can celebrate my children’s young years as a miracle. I think that is ultimately the key to the whole thing. I can complain about everything or stay too busy to notice the days going by, or I can savor the gift God has given me. One will lead to a far better, fuller, and more wonderful outcome. The other will result in regret.
