Making The Most Of Every Moment

Today I am so excited, I will be waking up early to look at my own blog!  For the very first time, this blog has a post by a guest blogger on it today.  I know that you will love it.

Lana asked me to write a post for her a short while ago - and now she is returning the favor to me.  I could not have imagined a more perfect post.  Her writing  - and even the title of her post - are absolutely perfect for this blog!  Enjoy this here today - and then be sure to hurry over to where you can usually find her, at her blog Two Teens and Their Mama.  I love everything she writes!   

Here is what Lana wrote:

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A few weeks ago Susan wrote a guest post for my blog, and today I’m returning the favor.  I’m honored that she trusts me to post here!  This is my favorite blog, and I look forward to reading it every day.

Susan writes about making the most of every moment.  I must admit, I am not very good at this.  I’m always doing two things at once, while worrying about the next task on my list.  Not a good quality, but it’s something that I have been intentionally working on – trying to slow down and be more present in the moment.  It’s one of the reasons I love Susan’s blog so much.  She always makes me stop, think and appreciate.

I just returned from a week’s vacation on the Oregon Coast.  We’ve been visiting here for sixteen years, and it’s a truly relaxing time.  We spend our days at the beach or playing games and enjoying each other’s company.  Yet even here I often forget to make the most of every moment.

This year I told myself that I was going to make my best effort to slow down and be present for the entire vacation.  I knew it was going to be hard.  For the first time, my older son wouldn’t be heading down with us.  Due to work and school commitments, he couldn’t come until Thursday night.  I knew I was going to miss him, and I was anxious about him driving five hours by himself in the dark.

My sons were three and one the first time we vacationed at the beach in Oregon.  I have hundreds of memories that have been made in Manzanita.  Each year is like a week long snap shot of our lives at that moment.  In 1998, my younger son wasn’t walking yet, and he was not particularly fond of the wind and sand.  On the other hand, my older son took one look at the waves and started running towards them.  My husband made it just in time to scoop him up before he face planted into the surf.

Last week, on the first day of my vacation, I sat on the beach and reminisced about years past as the boys grew older and were able to do more activities – beach biking down to the jetty, hiking, kayaking.  I have to admit that I was feeling sorry for myself – I’m not looking forward to the empty nest, and I miss those younger days.  But then I reminded myself of the promise I’d made to enjoy every moment of this trip, and I pushed the sadness aside and threw myself into having a good time with the family that were already there.

Apparently I was rewarded for my efforts, because my older son had a surprise planned for me, with help from his dad.  On Wednesday afternoon I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned around to see my sweet son standing there.  I immediately burst into tears, which elicited a sheepish “Geez mom, I didn’t mean to make you cry” from him.  I spent the rest of our vacation on cloud nine – I was so happy to have all of my family around me once again.

As I watched the boys playing football on the beach the next day, I truly felt the power of making the most of every moment we have together.   I know that these times will become fewer and more precious as the years go on.  I can’t spend the moments we do have comparing them to the past or worried about what the future will bring.  Later that night, as we headed into town for ice cream, I looked around and smiled.

I was making the most of every moment….and it was wonderful.

Thanks Lana!

Have your kids ever made you so happy that you cried?