Living in the present

I was going through some old pictures the other day, and really enjoying some memories of my son when he was small. I am so glad to have the pictures to prod those old memories!

Don’t get me wrong though – I don’t look back yearning for the old days. I know that those days weren’t all perfect; I know there were bad times as well as good times. But it is the good times those pictures evoke, and that I choose to remember. I don’t live in the past, but I sure don’t mind spending a little time remembering what was.

I loved being the mother of a small child, and I also loved being the mother of a toddler, a teenager (yes, those years were challenging), and a young adult. I look back and think that having a child helped me to remain in the present. I was very aware of the fact that if, when he was a baby, I spent too much time wishing he could walk & talk, I would miss out on what he could do at the time. That was true of every stage of his life. There were always new milestones to look forward to, but if I looked too much to the future, I would miss out on the present. And I am so glad that I did not miss out on what was happening at the time. As my son would say – good times, good times!