“Enjoy every minute of it,” Mr. Bob says, smiling at my young sons as he packs groceries into brown paper bags, “It all goes by so fast!”

I have heard that same refrain so often since becoming a mom eight years ago. And it is one that I firmly believe. It is already going by very fast. My head is filled with plans for birthday cakes, library visits, dinner parties, haircuts and doctor visits. Plus, there are the pressing matters of laundry to fold, dinner to cook, grandparents to visit, boo-boos to fix, cards to send, bills to pay, school forms to fill out (in triplicate), and teeth to collect from the underside of pillows (in the dark).

My mind is so full of the business of family that I have hardly a moment to think.

And while my thoughts are occupied, my children are growing up right before my hazy eyes and, startled, I cry out, “Wait! I have to take another look at that!”

So when I get a rare moment of quiet, I try to slow things down by writing in a journal. Just the simple recording of events in our lives, and how they affect the family, helps me see how we have all learned from each other and grown over time. I get to set aside the chaos to reflect on who I am and who I want to be to my children and my husband.

I then have the great pleasure of reading back into the past to either roll my eyes at how little I knew then, or to find bits of wisdom and humor that recapture some of our family’s finer moments. One late-night entry from 2006 has often served as a good reminder ...

She [my daughter] teaches me that the purpose of life is each moment that I spend with her. Happiness isn’t for the future. There isn’t a goal to be reached a few years from now. My life’s culmination is this quiet moment between us as she smiles at me with her eyes, and her curls frame her freckles when she rests her chin on her thin little arms. My bliss is lying next to [my youngest son], rubbing his tiny back while he plays with his toy backhoe. Happiness is when [the middle child] says, “Huggie,” and throws his arms around me and doesn’t want to let go.
It is so hard to remember every day, but life is now.

I read about my life, and I try to remember the gifts I am given along the way. And when I’m rushing the children off to bed so I can get to work on all the things that didn’t get done earlier in the day, my daughter’s eyes bring back that simple reminder. Enjoy every minute.

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