Time waits for no one

Today I was reminded how quickly our lives pass by and how things that happened years ago that caused me stress and worry now seem like minor annoyances.  They say if only you could know then what you know now....  I remember telling my kids that the concerns of a kid in high school are quickly forgotten once high school is behind you.  Who is popular, what clothes people wear, who said what to who about who, the first heart break, the party you weren't invited to, etc. etc.  None of that will mean much after high school and so it shouldn't make or break you.  It can teach you how to be resilient, how to forgive and move on, how to ensure you can identify true friends over those who need you for a moment and then forget you. 

Looking back as I have been, I recognize that many of the things I fretted about didn't really have a lasting impact on my life and yet there are things I shoved aside that did have a larger influence on who I am today.  It isn't easy to go back to those things especially when I feel peace and contentment now and don't feel the need.  But I can see that before I can move on with my next chapter, I need to tidy up things from the past a bit.  It isn't nearly as frightening or hard as one might think.  I feel a little like I have a white board and slowly I am erasing or cleaning up a bunch of erratic marks and the important things that define me now are beginning to become clearer.

I watched my daughter today as she worked with her kids in her new daycare.  First I am astounded by the woman she has become.  Not that I didn't think she would, but I am a little surprised at how quickly her childhood went by and now here she is a mother herself, taking care of other people's precious gifts.  I feel such pride in my kids.  Even though they are still in that difficult stage of life beginning their families, figuring out what they are good at, juggling financial concerns, I am proud of how they just put their heads down and plow forward trying to do better with each passing year. By far the greatest blessings in my life are my kids and now my grand kids.  I vow each time I see my grand kids that I will cherish each period in their life and be there present to notice everything, to play with them and make sure I give them the best I have to offer.

I read something the other day that said there are no do overs in life and that I am the story teller of my own life.    I can create the legend...or not.  I want to live a legacy, be a legend in my own right.  I better hurry though because I know how fast the first 55 years went.  I can only imagine how quickly the next chapter will pass.