My middle one passed his driving test this morning and can now officially go solo in the car. I’m so incredibly proud, yet a part of me is freaking out just a little. It’s not the thought of him driving out there in the big ol’ world all by himself- I know he’s a good driver (although I have to admit I haven’t been in the car alone with him yet- thankful for the husband!) I’m confident he’ll watch his driving speed on the road, but I’m watching LIFE speed by at an alarming rate, and that’s what is giving me the jitters.
One minute they’re swaddled in a Peter Rabbit onesie, the next they are driving off into the sunset. What’s with that? I recall when my three children were seven, two, and newborn, and life looked like an endless sea of diapers, Barbies, and fishy crackers. Older folk would make comments like, “Make the most of it, because the older they get, the faster time goes by.” I would smile and nod while thinking “Yeah, right.” But guess what? It’s TRUE!
I adored the baby stage- I truly was in my element (even though vast chunks of time have mysteriously been erased from my limited memory from this period- possibly for self-preservation purposes), and I have enjoyed and embraced each stage since. I even survived thirteen years of home schooling my darlings. But somewhere between soccer practices and University applications, life started picking up speed at an alarming rate, and as far as I can make out, I’m in sprint mode for the foreseeable future in an attempt to keep up.
Today, on my desk in front of me I see another batch of wedding invitations ready to be mailed for my daughter’s big day in May, high school grad forms for the middle one, and a tube of glue I borrowed from the youngest (thankfully still fourteen and not going anywhere anytime soon!) I’m almost scared to blink, lest I miss something major.
Life is picking up speed.
It appears I have two choices:
1. Roll up in the fetal position and lament over things out of my control and stress at how everything is passing in a blur and why, oh why can’t things just stay the same?
2. Roll up my sleeves and cheer my kids on, embracing their physical, emotional, and spiritual growth, count my innumerable blessings, and press on with a very full heart.
Number 2 sounds like a lot more fun to me. And I think my kids will appreciate it, not to mention my ever-patient husband. Life is a race for sure, and laps are filled with pain, joy, growth, hardship, waiting, decisions, fun, and all sorts of obstacles to hurdle over. Am I going to run mine in prickly sackcloth or Lululemon athletic wear?
I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, quite literally. None of us do. I leave that with the One who has me in the palm of His hand, and for whom time is irrelevant. In His strength, I’ll be to others what I need to be, and I’ll live in the present, not looking back wishing for yesteryear, and not straining at the leash for tomorrow, wishing my life away. Each day is a gift. Each stage of life is an adventure.
I will not speed through it and miss out. I’ve only ever received two “real” speeding tickets in my life, and they were both on the way to an art class. Both in the exact same place, just weeks apart. Darn speeding cameras. You’d think I’d learn. Sometimes I have to be intentional about paying attention…
I will endeavour to keep my eyes wide open.
I will try to be attentive and appreciate Every Single Moment.
I will not speed through life, or be intimidated by life speeding by me…
Will you?
