Enjoy Today

It has been 5 years since I have blogged.

So much has changed.

My very last blog in August of 2013 was when I was leaving the news business...and here I am, back in the news business.

We have 3 dogs, 2 birds, and countless pufts of hairballs & feathers.

Jack was only 13.  Now he's a graduate, awaiting college this fall.
And now I have no children in elementary school. One is about to start the last year of middle school.

We need new carpet.  We need to paint the house.
I'm sure the last time I blogged, we had a huge bald spot in the lawn where kids batted, and 3 smaller bald spots that were bases. Now, it's all back to grass. Sigh.

Ryan has suggested we take down the playset, which 5 years ago was still used and loved.  Now it sits alone; no giggling kids try to reach the sky on its swings or huddle in the little house with snacks.  No one streaks down the slide.  The grass at the bottom of the slide has also grown back in.  But I don't want to take it down. 

In 2013, I couldn't wrap my head around the thought of my kids driving.  Now there are three cars parked at the house ... one will head to California in August.  And another will probably come along as Kyle gets his license this year. Nick driving still seems weird.

5 years seems not that long ago - and it seems like another lifetime. Dare I think of what will come 5 years from now? Jack will be 23! Whoa! Kyle 20! And Nick will be the graduating kid. That's crazy talk. I'm not even going to talk about how old I'll be. What?! Maybe we'll finally have moved out of the mini-van era.  We're still hanging on to one, but I'm guessing over the span of the next 5 years we'll be able to tell it goodbye.

No minivan. No kids at home. No piles of laundry pouring out of smelly boys' rooms. No empty cartons of milk put back in the fridge. So many things that we complain about that will give us an empty feeling when they're no longer there.

Let's get back to the moment. Today. Right now. I'm sure all my boys are still asleep - including the Dad. It's a holiday. A holiday that knows no age.  Everyone's a little kid with eyes lit up by sparklers or watering from smoke balls. A good day for family time. The next 5 years can wait - I'm going to enjoy today.