Moments

As I sit here early this Sunday morning at Starbucks, with a soundtrack again provided by shuffle from my iPhone's 2,000 songs, I wax philosophical. I have two blogs in my head, but this one popped out first... its been in there longer and really wanted out. Maybe it didn't like the accommodations.

Life has its moments... Good ones... Bad ones... Ones that you hold as precious like treasure... Ones that you know there will be too few of and value all the more for that... and ones that want to repeat as often as possible.

I'm thankful that I have had fewer bad moments than good ones. But there have been more than a few memorable bad ones in my almost 42 years riding this orbiting rock. My father passing away three weeks after I got married. Family members passing on... and friends too... car wrecks... job losses. But I try to not dwell on them other than to comment that they have shaped the person I am today. Its always the critical moments, the bad ones, the terror, the sadness, the mistakes... those are the crucible that forges most of our core being... as much as we would want it to always be the good moments, that never seems to be the case. Now... my grandmother has been orbiting this go-cart track for almost 53 more years than I have and that boggles my mind. I feel I have experienced quite a lot... that I have stories to fill a lifetime... but if I am lucky and received those longevity genes from my Mother's side, I will have quite a lot of time to collect even more... much to everyone else's chagrin.

But like I said... I've had some memorable bad moments, but its the other kinds I would like to think about.

The good ones... time with my boys (when they behave... which this weekend has been better than many in the past), quiet mornings in Starbucks, or sitting at home with a cup of tea, a good book... or a great one, a movie... either an old favorite or a new discovery. These moments are the invisible glue that holds life together, while we are running around doing whatever we have to do to make it through the day.

Then there are the ones you treasure always... the momentous occurrences... the birth of my two sons that I remember like it was yesterday, weddings, family gatherings, even funerals... which in my family always turn into story time over many, many bottles of wine. Sometimes you treasure just those perfect days... from the time you wake up to the time you lay down in the evening... where everything goes as it should... where you are one with the universe.

Then follows those moments that you know there will be too few of. Sometimes these are the one-in-a-lifetime moments... that fantasy vacation you finally were able to afford, seeing someone famous speak... especially an aged legend, knowing that they may not make it back this way before they themselves become history. That was why I took a Sunday and drove out to see Chuck Yeager speak last year... at almost 87 years old now, how often are you going to be able to hear the the first man to break the sound barrier almost 63 years ago speak?

But the moments that will be too few that ring truer with me are the ones like visiting a sick friend... helping them... giving them a ride... listening to what they have to say... just reveling in experiencing them. But in the back of your mind, deep down, you know you will be the only one left with this shared memory long after they exit the go-cart track. I find I cherish these moments more than the others. When I was younger I would avoid these visits because they were uncomfortable for me. But as I grew older (grew up?) I realized these were a critical part of life that can't be replaced. Like seeing Chuck Yeager, but instead of being in an audience listening to famous person, you are one-on-one with a unique individual who also knows you. So... let is be known... hands down... Andrea flies faster, higher, and farther than General Yeager.

But life is not always about the singular occurrences... the treasured moments... even those those that will not come around again. Part of the glue I mentioned earlier is those moments that once they happen, you know you will be repeating them... over and over... as many times as possible... and if you can manage it, until you too exit the go-cart track. Going out to dinner with friends, a guys or girls night out, having a quiet drink with a friend, or going out to dinner with that special person in your life... of having a quiet night at home with them instead. Is the glue that keeps you grounded... my girlfriend Candy does this for me... and can turn a terrible day into a wonderful one with a text message. How she does it is a mystery... but its one I don't need to understand to love!

So... life is full of moments... are you making enough time for them all?

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