Today when I walked the dog down the street, I ran into the children of a family who recently moved into the neighborhood a few months ago. They were super chatty and especially adorable. They wanted to pet my dog and asked silly questions that I seriously couldn’t answer – like why are the dog’s legs bent in the back? Why does she have cushions on the back of her feet – things that make you go hmmmmm? But what really struck me was they were all approximately a year apart in age with Irish skin and bright blue eyes of wonder ….and similar to in a movie, I had a flashback to my own daughter and her two cousins that were all about a year apart playing in our yard, The oldest being our nephew, my daughter and then our niece was the youngest who literally chased the other two around. This family was aged exactly the same way with the boy being the oldest and the most talkative. Coincidentally, this boy bore an uncanny resemblance to my nephew who now is over six feet tall and is a young man in college. It made me realize how quickly time flew by and that in no time at all this little boy would be my nephew’s age.
What I’ve noticed about this looming birthday of “50” is the moments that take my breath away. Moments that I may have taken for granted two years ago, literally take my breath away when I least expect it. I’ve started to realize how precious our time is and to take note of all the little things that make me smile and feel yummy inside. All these tiny moments will add up to memories and in the end, memories are what we have to carry with us every day. Memories of our children when they were young, memories of celebrations with loved ones we have lost and memories of friends or acquaintances who came into our lives and were meant to be there if only for a brief time.
So I can’t help but wonder if it’s this looming birthday that is causing me to slow down and take notice or if it’s one of the important chapters in the book of life. That at some point, we all slow down and take notice of the birds chirping, little kids playing and the pretty pink petals on a rose. If that truly is the case, I’m certainly enjoying this chapter. But I may need to find the chapter on why my dogs back legs are bent!
