"You're Gonna Miss This"

I think I've mentioned before about how I come up with all these good things to say when I'm busy. Well, yesterday was a busy day. Laura came over and helped me clean my house. It hasn't been this clean since my parents cleaned it for me. ;) She even brought her steamer over so she could get all the gunk off my kitchen floor that doesn't come off with normal mopping. I normally get down on my hands and knees a couple of times a year and scrub it really good, but the steamer is so much nicer. So anyway, while I was cleaning, I was reflecting. Reflecting on how busy life is right now. About no matter how hard you try, you can't get everything done in a day that you would like to. About my growing pile of clean laundry on the guest bed waiting to be folded/hung up. About the pile of laundry that still needs to be washed. About how incredibly blessed I am to have those piles of laundry (and the guest bed to put them on). ;) About not having as much time as I would like to spend with my kids to just enjoy them. About not having as much time with Ryan as we used to have. And the whole time I was thinking of this song. This song brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it, because it's so true. One of these days I want to get some of my pictures together and make a slide show with this song. I just want to treasure every minute of my day, because the days go by so fast. I have an almost 2-1/2 year old and a 2 month old! And it seems like it wasn't that long ago that Ryan was asking me if I wanted to start writing him. And I wished those days away. Always waiting for the next time I would see him. (And I'm not saying it should have been different.) But I wish I had focused more on enjoying my time with my family, because now I look back and kind of wish I could relive those days. Singing at the top of my lungs with Drew in the car, driving to work with Dad to fill in as "secretary" at Caffes-Steele (and Drew and I helping push the car down 95 when we ran out of gas on the way home ;)), eating lunch out with Mom while we were shopping, and going down to Molly's and giving her a bad time about how I always had to do her dishes when I was there. There are so many good memories of my childhood, teen years, and early 20's. There are bad memories, too, but mostly good ones. And then so many good memories of life with Ryan and starting our little family. Moving to a new part of the country and making new friends - friends that I can't imagine not having. Friends with kids the same ages as mine. Friends that help me feel so normal. ;) And yet I need to treasure the hard times, too, because those are the times that make us stronger and bring us closer to the Lord. Those are the ones I would rather just shove under the rug and not think about, but they are there. And they don't have to be completely bad memories if we let God work his will in us and shine through us even in those times. Because looking back on some of the hard times, I can actually smile. Not because I don't remember the tears and frustration, but because I can see how He helped me through it. Sometimes with a whisper, sometimes with an overwhelming since of peacefulness, sometimes through encouragement from someone close to me, and sometimes with a beautiful day. And so I want to live remembering the past, looking to the future, but focusing on today. Because I don't want to miss out on anything because I'm too focused on how I wish things could be.