STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES

It's amazing to me how quickly the time goes by as you get older.  I remember being a child and thinking how long the days, weeks, months would feel. Especially if you were looking forward to something.  Now that I am older and have my own children, the days, weeks, months and years go by far too quickly.  It seems just like yesterday I had my son. I blinked (4 years later) and along came our daughter. 

It's funny how we often take for granted the time we have with our families? I I wish I would have known then, what I know now.  Take my grandparents for example. My husband and I were married in 2001 and by 2004, both my maternal grandparents had passed away. 

I remember the last time I saw my grandfather. My grandmother had passed away a few months earlier and we were having dinner at my grandparents house. We spent the evening reminiscing about my grandmother and making sure our grandpa was okay.  You see, my grandparents knew each other all their lives. My grandfather was best friends with my grandmother's older brother. The only time they were apart was while my grandfather was serving in WWII and Korea.  Not having my grandmother with him was the hardest thing he ever had to experience. 

As we got into our car and pulled out of the drive way, I remember being overwhelmed with the feeling that I needed to stop, go back inside and tell him how much I loved him. I ignored the prompting and we continued home. The next day, I received the phone call from my mom that my grandpa had collapsed, was unconscious and being taken to the emergency room.  Later that evening grandpa passed away. I never got to speak with my grandfather again.

If  you take anything away from reading this, remember to stop and smell the roses. Make time to spend with your loved ones and cherish every moment together, while there is still time.   

Yep, that's me eating ice cream. Some things never change.