Small Wonders

As I stared at my computer screen late Monday night, my mind began to fade into thoughts of the holidays and how quickly this past year has gone by. If it wasn’t for my wife reminding me earlier that Christmas is a week away, I still would have thought it was November.

My days blur into weeks, weeks into months. Suddenly it’s the end of the year, and I’m struggling to figure out where the time went. It seems like time moves faster the older you get. The problem is I don’t feel that old.
I still sometimes have to remind myself sometimes that I’m an adult. A quick look at the stacks of bills and the little bundle of responsibility that is our son tends to fix that pretty quickly.

Suddenly I’m thinking about all the things I thought I would have done by now. You know, just the standard stuff – Travel the world, conquer most of it and retire on a mountain of money. Somehow younger me had loftier expectations than what my life currently allows. Then I really started to think about what I want most these days. Picture the two sides of the frosted mini-wheat in that commercial. “The kid in me wants to take a vacation, but the adult in me wants to pay our down our credit card”

Instead of wanting to see the world, I’d now settle for seeing my family for more than a few minutes a day. Instead of wanting to conquer the world, i’d now be content just living in one where people were a little smarter. I still want the pile of money but now realize that retiring at 30 is a little premature. I can wait a few more years.

The best part of my life now is my family. I have a beautiful wife who takes care of everything. We’ve been together for 10 years so she knows me better than I know myself. I can look at her and know she is thinking the same thing…yes I want you to go upstairs and make cookies at 9:30 at night…random but true story. The highlight of my day is often a hug from my son before he goes to sleep at night. Certainly didn’t see that coming when I was 18.

I’ve learned it’s better to enjoy these moments than to dwell on what ifs. The big stuff is always good and will forever motivate me to keep reaching for the unattainable. The little stuff is inspiring and reminds me that anything is still possible.

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