…ok, if that just made you think of far off, unthinkable time, imagine how I feel.
Here I am, sitting in my brown leather recliner, in the latter part of 2008, nursing my almost 6 month old son. Suddenly, my mind bunny trails into Jack’s future. One thought leads to another, and I begin pondering over what life will be like when he’s in high school, what college tuition might cost by then, and what the state of America’s economy may be like.
Then it hits me.
He’ll be graduating in 2026.
2026, folks. That’s right. TWO TWO’S. Twenty Twenty Six. Four more presidential elections will have taken place by then.
Right now, it’s hard to even imagine life in 2012. Shoot, if you ask my husband, he says it’s hard to imagine life in two days.
When I look back on my own life, and the changes that occurred between my baby days (1983) and high school graduation (2001), it’s astounding….
- Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush(!)
- Berlin Wall taken down
- Collapse of the Soviet Union
- 1987 recession
- The explosion of the personal computer
- World Wide Web
- Gay rights movement
- Terrorism
- Rap music
- Massive hurricanes
- Earthquakes
- Wars and more wars
- VCR to DVD
- Cassette to MP3
- Atari to Wii
- Analog to Digital
- Floor model TV’s to flat panel HiDef
…and countless others that have changed the course of history and the face of our nation and entire world.
I can’t help but wonder what changes await Jack during his lifetime. What will his world be like? How different will it be from mine? Will I eagerly accept the change that is to come, or, like my grandparents before me, cling to nostalgic memories, determined that “the good old days” of my youth were “the way it should be”? Will he look at me as outdated and out of touch? Will I see him as froward, stubborn, and disrespectful when he pushes past me and into his own future…his own world view?
It’s weird how much of our own parent’s thoughts we suddenly gain insight into once we have our own children. And to think my once teenaged-self thought I knew more than those 40 years my senior. Oh to have that reckless ignorance again – back in the days when high school would never end, ”best friends forever” really meant forever, and the world was our oyster. It was impossible to imagine the changes that would occur in life only a few short years after leaving those sheltered halls of schooldom. The older I get, the more I realize that one’s life truly does not encompass a single timeslot in history, but breeches many time slots, overlapping not only with each decade, but with past generations and carrying on into future generations. One’s understanding of life isn’t fixed – but is liquid – emerging with the flow of time, shifting ever so slightly as new events take place, and blending with new relationships we encounter along the way.
And so it goes – as time marches on, so does change. Along with it, attitudes, feelings, habits, family, and even life as we know it change. To remain happy, one must constantly be aware that this change is occuring and purposefully enjoy this one moment in time, as it appears right now, for it most certainly will not last forever. Children will grow up, parents will die, and that fresh coat of paint will someday peel and fade away. Life moves on.
What is today, will not be tomorrow.
What is tomorrow will be next month’s past.
Ever so slowly, our life emerges as a set of memories to be rehashed time and time again around the dinner table. One day we’re nursing our firstborn, and seemingly, the next we’re attending the birth of our 4th grandchild. Life moves on.
And soon enough it will be 2026. My tiny Jack-Evan will be a self-absorbed college bound American male, full of the future and full of dreams. The new 2008 Thanksgiving Turkey sippy cup from his Grammy will be long forgotten and tonight’s nursing session will never be remembered. Baby teeth, swingsets, toys, and first steps will be relegated to the far corners of our mind – and replaced with tuition payments, talks of career, and a new car.
2026.
It seems like such a long time from now when I think of the numbers. Yet it will be here before I know it.
Life definitely moves on.
Are you sitting idly by, wondering when your life will begin? It already has. Grab the moment -this moment- while you can. Make wonderful, solid, fun-filled memories that will extend beyond the changes that are to come. Enjoy each and every day, and when many years have passed, you can look back on this chapter of your life and smile fondly.
