Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Making The Most Of Every Moment

Today I am so excited, I will be waking up early to look at my own blog!  For the very first time, this blog has a post by a guest blogger on it today.  I know that you will love it.
Lana asked me to write a post for her a short while ago - and now she is returning the favor to me.  I could not have imagined a more perfect post.  Her writing  - and even the title of her post - are absolutely perfect for this blog!  Enjoy this here today - and then be sure to hurry over to where you can usually find her, at her blog Two Teens and Their Mama.  I love everything she writes!   

Here is what Lana wrote:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few weeks ago Susan wrote a guest post for my blog, and today I’m returning the favor.  I’m honored that she trusts me to post here!  This is my favorite blog, and I look forward to reading it every day.

Susan writes about making the most of every moment.  I must admit, I am not very good at this.  I’m always doing two things at once, while worrying about the next task on my list.  Not a good quality, but it’s something that I have been intentionally working on – trying to slow down and be more present in the moment.  It’s one of the reasons I love Susan’s blog so much.  She always makes me stop, think and appreciate.




I just returned from a week’s vacation on the Oregon Coast.  We’ve been visiting here for sixteen years, and it’s a truly relaxing time.  We spend our days at the beach or playing games and enjoying each other’s company.  Yet even here I often forget to make the most of every moment.

This year I told myself that I was going to make my best effort to slow down and be present for the entire vacation.  I knew it was going to be hard.  For the first time, my older son wouldn’t be heading down with us.  Due to work and school commitments, he couldn’t come until Thursday night.  I knew I was going to miss him, and I was anxious about him driving five hours by himself in the dark.

My sons were three and one the first time we vacationed at the beach in Oregon.  I have hundreds of memories that have been made in Manzanita.  Each year is like a week long snap shot of our lives at that moment.  In 1998, my younger son wasn’t walking yet, and he was not particularly fond of the wind and sand.  On the other hand, my older son took one look at the waves and started running towards them.  My husband made it just in time to scoop him up before he face planted into the surf.

Last week, on the first day of my vacation, I sat on the beach and reminisced about years past as the boys grew older and were able to do more activities – beach biking down to the jetty, hiking, kayaking.  I have to admit that I was feeling sorry for myself – I’m not looking forward to the empty nest, and I miss those younger days.  But then I reminded myself of the promise I’d made to enjoy every moment of this trip, and I pushed the sadness aside and threw myself into having a good time with the family that were already there.

Apparently I was rewarded for my efforts, because my older son had a surprise planned for me, with help from his dad.  On Wednesday afternoon I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned around to see my sweet son standing there.  I immediately burst into tears, which elicited a sheepish “Geez mom, I didn’t mean to make you cry” from him.  I spent the rest of our vacation on cloud nine – I was so happy to have all of my family around me once again.



As I watched the boys playing football on the beach the next day, I truly felt the power of making the most of every moment we have together.   I know that these times will become fewer and more precious as the years go on.  I can’t spend the moments we do have comparing them to the past or worried about what the future will bring.  Later that night, as we headed into town for ice cream, I looked around and smiled.

I was making the most of every moment….and it was wonderful.



Thanks Lana!
Have your kids ever made you so happy that you cried?


23 comments :

  1. What a wonderful surprise! I would have cried too! :) It is hard to make the most of every moment, especially if you're missing past moments. I'm glad you and your whole finished up the week together!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was the best surprise...AND I didn't have to worry about him driving down, because he was already there! Reading Susan's blog has definitely helped me work on making the most of every moment.

      Delete
  2. Susan - thank you for having me as a guest on your blog! I'm so excited to be here :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is so fun to have some of your writing on my blog Lana - and thanks for the compliments! I really do hope my blog has been helpful, but I suspect you are pretty good at making the most of every moment even without it! I'm so glad you could all be together on vacation!
      Many thanks, also, to your readers who stopped by here today!

      Delete
  3. Life is short and it is an important reminder to make the most of every moment...one moment at a time! Enjoyed the post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Pam! Life is definitely too short to live in the past.

      Delete
  4. What a great reminder to live in the here and now. I am guilty of living too far out in the future, myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Something I'm definitely guilty of too. It's one of the reasons I love Susan's blog so much - she reminds me to live in the here and now.

      Delete
  5. i truly envy you for making the most of every moment

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great surprise!

    Bisous
    Suzanne

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was the BEST surprise. And as usual, I was completely clueless :).

      Delete
  7. That is the best surprise! Such a good reminder to be present in every moment and make the most of it!

    Jill
    dousedinpink.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sweet post, Lana! So wonderful that your family surprised you in such a special way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Carrie! My hubby is really good at surprises - looks like he's teaching the boys too!

      Delete
  9. What a special surprise and a special memory!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm pretty sure I'll never forget this trip to the beach!

      Delete
  10. This is so beautiful and emotional and I have even shed a few tears. While I talk about my daughter and the coming twins all the time, I rarely mention my son. It seems like he's been on the move since he came out of my womb. He has been independent all his life. He wanted to join the marines straight out of high school. I begged and pleaded with him not to do it and I won...sort of. He agreed to wait one year, he kept his word and got a job and worked even got his first "pad" with two of his buddies. He left at 19 and I see him probably 3 times a year some years less. There's alot being skipped here but I miss my little guy who would suck his thumb while holding my hair, in his place is a big strapping soldier 25 now with 2 sons of his own and while I miss him I'm just so damn glad he's alive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your son sounds like a very special young man. I'm so sorry that you don't get to see him more often - that's one of my greatest fears when it comes to my boys. I'm glad he's alive too!

      Delete
  11. Beautiful. I am childless, but yes, I do often cry happy tears. And I love the gift you were given.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oregon is so beautiful! I haven't been there in years but my son REALLY wants to move there next year. Looks like you had a lot of fun!

    ReplyDelete
  13. awww Lana i love this and I love that you had such a sweet surprise from your family!

    ReplyDelete

If you enjoyed this post, I would love it if you share it on your social media sites and with your friends!