My granddaughter returned to college this week. She is a senior, and she is happy. She'll be leaving the school in May. What will the future bring? Graduate school, we hope.
Which school? How will she pay for it? Will she be happy with her choice of program?
So many questions--for tomorrow. The moment, this moment, is important. It's all we have, every day, all we know for sure is the moment. I think my granddaughter should stop, my daughter should stop, and I should stop right now and enjoy the moment.
A moment in time: Two beautiful pets who filled our days with joy and who are no longer with us.
So much of our lives is spent looking ahead. Planning. That's natural, especially for the young, who are still growing. The future is built on today, and the future is important. But so is today. Today, the moment, is all we know we have for sure.
We wait for tomorrow, for an event. But that event, that tomorrow is made of moments. Are we going to spend them also waiting, for the next day, the next event?
A moment in time: My granddaughter was on a ferry. We were all on summer vacation together.
We should stop, right now and look around. Particularly if we are having a 'happy' moment.
I want my granddaughter to appreciate today. To appreciate that she has friends. That she is well. That she enjoys school, has a family that loves her and that she gets up every day in a peaceful, positive environment.
I spoke to her yesterday. I had news, bad news and then good news. The news was a series of moments.
Her grandfather, my husband, received a test result that had dire implications. We saw the result at 9:30 in the morning. Both of us, my husband and I, were desperate at the news. I started reading on the Internet and the implications of the report seemed even worse.
I called the doctor. She called back two hours later, at 11:30. It turns out we got it wrong. Those results didn't mean at all what we thought they meant. The results were innocuous. The darkness that had surrounded us for two hours was lifted.
All those moments of despair, each moment heavy with dread. How intensely I planned to live every day after that. How much I planned, in those two hours, to hold onto life, as long as we had it.
I told my granddaughter about this, and about the reprieve. I wanted to share with her the joy of life I was enjoying in the moment.
I'm sure the full import of this experience did not impress my granddaughter. Maybe she caught a glimpse of the transient danger, and then the joy at our good news. Did I know, did I understand at 21 the value of every moment?
A moment in time: We all went to the beach one day, just before my granddaughter left for college. We had the sense that a stage in her life was beginning, a stage that was not as tied to family as her life had been so far. My husband and I had helped to raise her. For most of her life, we were her only babysitters, her only caretakers, besides my daughter.
All my life I've had the desire to be productive. What does that mean? Does it mean I was working in the moment for an outcome that would come in the future? Did I spend those moments vaguely aware of the present, not appreciating the gift of my existence?
Maybe we do have to sacrifice a little bit of today, so that we can have a tomorrow. But we should keep in mind, always, that all we have for sure is today. Nothing is promised. And we have the past.
If we lived wisely, we can look back at the past and remember those precious moments. Time we spent living, not planning to live.
Today my husband and I have the intention of going to my granddaughter's graduation. That's in four months. It's a nice thing to anticipate. But I'm not going to pass those four months looking ahead to that one moment, when my granddaughter leaves behind another stage in her life.
With every transition she moves further away. Life does that. She still wants to spend time with us. She still calls us on the phone and sends us pictures. During this last vacation she took walks with us around the block, and we all sat down together and played a very friendly game of poker. She had a guest, and she incorporated that guest's visit with the family activity. But never do I doubt that she is moving further away.
The graduation ceremony in four months will be a symbolic representation of her separation. I hope we are there on graduation day to celebrate her growth, her advancement. Four months is a long time. A lot of moments. I hope my granddaughter lives those moments consciously. I know I will.
A moment in time: My granddaughter was in Ireland, with my daughter, when this picture was taken. She is looking out to sea, perhaps toward home. Almost a hundred years ago her great grandparents crossed that sea and made a life for themselves in a new country. What a moment that must have been. Did they revel in it, in the adventure? Or were all their thoughts tied up in the future? Where would my thoughts have been, in their place?
Thank you for reading my blog. Peace and health to all.
May peace and goodwill prevail in my country.
All photos, even the little accent picture, are mine, from my family album.
This post has been shared on Reddit by @jocabanero4 through the HivePosh initiative.
That's a very beautiful story full of your wisdom. Yes, sometimes we forget to enjoy the moment because we are planning for and worry too much about the future.
I wish your granddaughter all the best and you still many precious moments together with her!
P.S.: I am really curious if you have read my book already and how you like it? So far I have got no reviews or feedback at all from anybody... but it would help me a lot to improve in case I would ever write again.
I'm so sorry I did not read your book!!! I will try to this weekend. Things have been very busy here. I do most of my reading before I go to sleep. I will download the book on my iPad and try to get it done. I'm sure it is fascinating.
Getting reviews is very hard, I know. Don't be discouraged. Great authors have spent many years waiting for proper acknowledgement. That is the fate of artists. Artists create and then wait.
I'll try to take the waiting away, at least for this one reader.
Thanks for reminding me, @gen-quimba
Oh, there is no need at all to say "sorry", and of course no obligation to read my book fast... it's just that I am so curious, and it would be exciting to hear any opinion... 😊
And also don't expect me to be a great author, I am not a professional writer, but I wrote down my honest, true story.
Thanks so much for your permanent support, @agmoore!
Hello @gen-quimba,
Please check out my review of your book on Hive here. I will be posting a review on Amazon soon.
Wow, thank you so much, I already replied!
When we are very young, we look forward the future, there is no today, we want to grow up, become independent... When that happens we look for planning our life.. Basically we live planning something, without enjoying the moment as you say, and that applies for me too
Yes, we do look forward to the future when we are young. I think my granddaughter slows down a bit when she is around us. She sees that time is taking a toll, and I think she wants to spend good time with us while she can. She is wonderful.
The two pets look good, bless their hearts. I can imagine your panic when you received depressing news about your husband's health, and the feeling of relief when you realized there wasn't much to worry about.
I love how you're in your granddaughter's life, experiencing and sharing certain precious moments with her.
Enjoying the moment, the present with our loved ones is of utmost importance because tomorrow isn't guaranteed. Congratulations to her for finishing her college studies, she'd no doubt be overjoyed to have you two and other family members at her graduation. Such moments should be celebrated together with our loved ones.
Thank you for that thoughtful comment, @aloysiusmbaba. Sometimes it's good to have a near miss, because it alerts us to the value of life as we have it. Every day, every moment, I'm grateful that my husband and I have each other and that we have family.
My granddaughter is on the path...I hope she stays healthy and happy. Thank you for your good wishes.
t’s so true that we should enjoy the present, especially with special moments like your granddaughter’s graduation coming up
Beautiful words! Treasure the only thing we really do have, this moment.
I moved far away from my parents. That is one of the things I regret at my advanced age. My daughters are doing it differently, thank goodness.
I am so glad the medical event turned out to have been a non-event. You had me worried there for a paragraph.
🌷🌸
Ah, those regrets. The do cling to us, don't they.
I'm happy your daughters did not move away. I am so attached to my family. They haven't moved (son and daughter) but I tell them they can. I'm ready :)
Have a great Sunday, @owasco
By "move away" I meant ditch me altogether, as I did my parents. Oh, I visited them twice a year, but they were not an important part of my life in any way. My daughters visit me regularly and I them. We talk all the time. They call me to ask questions about how to cook this or that, what home insurance or car insurance they should have, etc. It's lovely. They both live quite far away.
Have a lovely Sunday yourself!
We appreciate you taking the time, to either use #ThoughtfulDailyPost, or otherwise help this Community grow. So...
Thank you!!
It's a pleasure to be part of this community, to slow down and have a thoughtful moment.
@agmoore...
Wes...
Thank you for being you, @wesphilbin, for spreading positive vibes. Sometimes people feel powerful when they are angry. That's an illusion. Anger destroys. Love builds.
Hope your day is peaceful🌷
a community encouraging first-hand content, and each individual living their best life.
Thank you very much, @innerblocks and @wesphilbin
I appreciate the memorial. Our little babies will always be in our hearts.
What a heartfelt post @agmoore. I'm so sorry about your two doggies who are no longer with you. Thank goodness your husband's diagnosis wasn't such bad news in the end! We should not do our own research until we have the diagnosis. Doctors also get us worried for no reason before they consult the specialist.
If only I did more of that!
Your post reminds me of something I have on my wall.
Enjoy those moments, we understand that each moment is precious but most younger folk still have to learn.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and please don't let the coffee get cold!
That's a wonderful wall hanging. You see why your brave blogs affect me so strongly? It's that time of life. We're one bad report away from disaster :)
I did heat my coffee a little today. We are buried under snow here, with temperatures consistently under 20 F.
Have a great week, @lizelle
I'm watching the news about the extreme weather in the US. Your coffee needs to be hot @agmoore! I'm often distracted and have to pop mine in the microwave.
Weird thinking it's so cold on your side of the world while the sun is out in all its' glory here.
Time becomes more and more precious.
We should try and forget those numbers and just make the best of every day (not so easy ignoring though when near disasters start showing up on the horizon.)
Stay warm and enjoy the week @agmoore🤗
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