Life goes by fast. I was scrolling through some old photos in my phone the other day and I was surprised by a lot of the pictures. It wasn’t necessarily the subject of the picture that surprised me. Often it was the time stamp. I was amazed when I realized all the ways my life has changed in the last year.
One year goes by fast
One year ago I had a baby boy in my house. He was our first foster son. It was my first experience of being a dad. The experience only lasted a few months but he’ll be in my heart forever.
One year ago I lived on the other side of town. I’ve moved twice since then. I have lived in three different houses in the last twelve months. Home has been a fluid term for us this last year.
One year ago I wouldn’t have imagined having a daughter. My wife and I were always planning on adopting, in addition to having biological children. We figured that since we were going to adopt first we would get the opportunity to choose the gender. So we decided to adopt a boy first and a girl next. Cut to: me with a nine month old daughter. Now I can’t imagine the last year without her. Or a future without her.
One year ago I had a book manuscript that I had been working on for three years and was very close to giving up on. I was tired of rejection letters and unanswered inquiries and it seemed like my manuscript wasn’t meant to be a published novel. Cut to: my novel will be available in bookstores on November 30th.
One year can go by really quickly. A lot can happen in a year.
Or very little can.
Think back over the last year of your life. What were the high points? What were the low points? Did a lot change? Or is there very little noticeable difference between then and now?
The moments
I’ve found that life is about moments. If you think back over the last few years of your life, it’s likely you will only remember a few moments. Not every event or moment in your life makes a mark. But some do.
It isn’t only the big moments that we remember. A move or a marriage or the birth of a child will each leave a mark in your memory. There is no doubt about that. But sometimes small moments can leave an image your brain will be able to recall for as long as your heart keeps beating.
Sometimes those are the moments you have to make. At the risk of sounding like an overused motivational twitter image, it’s often the difficult times or the tough moments that will mean the most to you later on. And sometimes when life seems to be flying by, as it is wont to do, you have to create a moment you will remember.
So…
Take a risk.
Take a shot.
Try something new.
Fail at something.
Connect with someone.
Those are the moments you will remember.
Or you could move three times and have two foster babies in less than a year. You’ll remember that too.
