Slipping Through my Fingers…NOT

Time is precious. Children are precious. Grab the moments and love your kids.

This time of year has me with more unstructured time than usual.

…time to spend playing games, or in outdoor activities with family. Love that. And more time to watch a movie. Mamma Mia has become a favorite of mine. The beautiful scenes of Greece capture me with it’s bluest of blue waters, and the energy of the music and dancing is captivating.

There is one moment in the movie that stops me in my tracks, and my eyes well up with tears, no matter how often I watch it. A mother helps her daughter prepare to be a bride, and she uses the time to reflect on how quickly the time went.

I have to admit that I’m not tearing up for the characters in Mamma Mia…but pondering how quickly the people in my family are growing and changing. This video has me take stock of how quickly time is passing, and has me pause to both celebrate all the joy, and mourn the wonderful stages of life that have passed, never to return.

The lines that stick with me the most are:

This song is a trigger for me to remember to be present in the moment. To remember that, 20 years from now, the state of my kitchen, or the pile of boots and shoes at the back landing, or whether the pizza was homebaked or freezer section fare won’t matter…what will matter is the time I spent with the people I care about. Being with them, enjoying the simple pleasures of life. I want to capture mental images of laughter, patience, endurance, triumph. I want to be there for the ones I love through the thick and thin, helping them negotiate the challenges of the growing years in ways that has them feel powerful…and powerfully supported.

I want to choose to go sledding even when I am tired…I won’t remember flopping on the couch to watch TV years from now, but we might remember landing on top of each other at the bottom of the hill when we think about our family in future years’ first big snowfall.

I would like to not only have “quality time” with my loved ones, but “quantity time” too…sometimes it takes hours together to get to the meaningful conversation. For me, right now, that means logging in the time in the car driving…some of the best conversations happen in the car. I will always treasure those.

I’m hoping that years from now, as that song goes through my head, I can feel that I didn’t let time slip through my fingers…that I grabbed it and squeezed the moment, being fully present on being with my loved ones, capturing the opportunities to meaningfully connect.

Time passes, certainly, but hopefully doesn’t slip through my fingers, but is cherished and valued.