Gift Moments

     It was late last night.  Everyone else in the house had tucked themselves into bed, turned out the lights and snuggled in quietly.  I was getting our youngest settled in, and he asked, "Will you read me a short story?"

     I was tired, wanted just to get myself horizontal.  Gift Moment.  The phrase rolled through my mind.  Some of our children are in their thirties.  I know how fast they grow up and move on, making their own homes and lives. Like this past week, a blur, flicking by me like the lane markers on the highway as the car speeds along. "Yes, I'll read to you."  It will only take a few minutes to read, and the value of the moment far exceeds my need to lie down. Pulled out Dr. Seuss, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. A simple, fun, silly book to close out the day.  The last lines: "Today is gone.  Today was fun.  Tomorrow is another one.  Every day, from here to there, funny things are everywhere."  A simplistic philosophy.  Or, is it?  Today is gone.  What moments do you have to remember from today?  Tomorrow is another one.  What moments can you anticipate creating tomorrow, or look forward to, or take the time to see, really see?
     Except for a photo digression yesterday, I've been writing this week about moments - taking the time to see, really see, the moments of our days.  To see beauty and pay attention to the people around us. To not be in such a hurry, so busy, that we miss the value and importance of the moments of our lives.  To push pause.

     I love to get ideas from the Dictionary and the Thesaurus.  Mine are frequently used, beat up, and on an easily reached shelf behind my desk chair.  Except when one of the kids has carried them off.  When we say, "Be there in a second," or, "In a minute," we don't mean it literally.  By the time we say it, a second has already passed.  Moment can mean an instant, or a brief spark of time, a flash.  Like this past week flashing by.  Paying attention to this moment, has more to do with value, the significance, the worth of that piece of time.  Think, momentous, of great moment.

     Gift Moment.  Can we learn to see the Gift Moments scattered throughout our days?  The consequence, understanding time as a gift. To perceive the moment with the heart, not just the eyes.  To be awe-struck by the beauty of every moment that crosses our path.