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Our City Our Schools Our Sports Our Kids |
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Heads Up!
Recently in the movie "Hitch," he was asked what he believed. Hitch answered, "Never lie, never cheat, never steal and never drink. However, if you must lie, lie in the arms of the one you love. If you must cheat, cheat death. If you must steal, steal away from bad company. And if you must drink, drink in those moments of life that take your breath away."
Interesting advice from a character that played a "love doctor." But, there is no denying that there are many magical moments we all encounter every day in our own lives. As I thought of some important milestones in my life, I realized that remembering some of them would undoubtedly take me on an incredible, nostalgic journey. I thought of my firsts: a new Schwinn bicycle, a flight in an airplane, a teenage love, a gentle kiss, the prom, my own car, travel to a foreign country, getting married and the pure joy of my first baby. All of these were "magic moments."
There are the giggles and smiles, but there is nothing quite as heart-melting as the first time your baby reaches up and gives you a hug. Do you remember taking your child to the first day of preschool and how tiny he looked as you turned and walked out the door leaving him on his own? What about the endless ballet performances, T-ball games, soccer matches, swimming competitions and horseshows? Winning or losing, nothing really mattered except that your child was involved and you were watching proudly.
The years fly by and now you are watching eighth-grade graduation, dating dilemmas, the excitement of prom preparations, high school graduation, and packing and leaving home for college. All these are "treasured moments" in the life of any family. Before you know it, the house is empty. I look through the photo albums remembering with disbelief that these past years have gone by so quickly.
My life is still changing as my now-grown children embark on careers, marriages and parenthood. Who could ever forget the wedding celebrations of sons and daughters or the birth of grandchildren? Life is like a movie of memories that keeps rolling frame after frame as time goes by. All of a sudden, the movie seems like a rerun as I follow the new generation through many of the same magical moments that I experienced as a child, a parent and now as a grandparent.
Not all of life's memorable moments are happy, however, and some are really bittersweet. Life is indisputably a journey, not a destination. Therefore, I think it is very important to live each day to the fullest and make the most of every situation you encounter. There will be good times and tough times, but without the bad experiences, we would never appreciate the positive events that are the "moments that take our breath away."
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Sue Stauffer