Carpe Diem

 

I think it started at Christmas when Josh lost his first tooth.  It compounded as I watched my baby girl take care of her baby girl and was complete when I went last month to sign my baby boy up for junior kindergarten for Sept.  The sudden realization that my kids are all growing up too quickly. 

 

 

 

 

Josh has now lost two teeth, Owen seems to grow taller every day and Megan tries to do everything on her own.  

 

 

 

(when Owen opened these stickers in his stocking, the first thing he said was 'great, I got two packs, now I can share')

 

It definitely makes me sad and makes me be one of those who lament, 'they grow up too fast'. But, more importantly, these 'milestones' for my babies have made me realize that I need to seize the day (carpe diem) and try to enjoy every moment I have with them.

When I went home last week to celebrate the life of our dear friend, James, I was reminded of how short life is and how important it is to 'live life to the fullest'.  James did seize the day and lived life to the fullest; he worked hard and played hard and made sure that everyone in his life knew that they were important.  I think that in his 37 short years, he laughed more, smiled more, impacted more lives (and talked more;) ) than most people do in 75 years.  James' life and legacy is a reminder to me that as life passes us by, we need to cherish every moment and make as many memories as possible.

So, I will continue to remind myself to carpe diem and make a conscious effort to make memories with my children by doing things like going for icecream when it's -5,

 

 

making a mess by having a painting party,

 

 

 

 

playing a seventh round of UNO,

 

 

and having a sushi pj party picnic.