This is their childhood

I had a realization over the holiday weekend. I am sure some will think this is pretty silly for mom-of-three (with the oldest being 8) just figuring this out NOW.

THIS is my kids' childhood. Right here - right now. This is what they will remember when they are older. This is what they will be referring to when they say "remember when we were kids..."

Kids don't look forward to the time when we'll be able to afford a bigger house, or when we'll make more money. They don't look forward to next year's vacation. They don't worry about what they'll be wearing next year. They don't worry about college, weddings, retirement. All they care about is NOW. NOW is where they form the memories they will hold for the rest of their lives.

This is really important.

I do think about the future and what needs to come next. After all, that's kind of my job as a parent. But it finally hit me that I need to live for the NOW too. These days are too precious to miss out on.

This whole year has ushered in some big realizations for me. It's why I finally quit my daycare job and decided we need to focus on just our children.

But as I sat at picnics and birthday parties this weekend, I recalled picnics and birthday parties from when I was a child. Did I care about parties at fancy places? Nope. Did I care that our house wasn't the biggest or fanciest? Nope. All I remember is family, friends and good time.

I want that for my children too.