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| Moreno Family Photo 2013 Thank you St. Laurent Photography for our family photos. |
Because if tomorrow never comes, you will not have to regret today.
Summer ends in 1 day. Major sad face!
The only thing I have been bummed about with summer, is I haven't kept up on blogging. I am ohhh soooooo excited to blog about all our "adventures" - well that's what I call them - that we've had this summer. I LOVE when the boys are home. I love seeing them sleep in. I love marking their height on the growth wall in the garage throughout the summer. I love when the house is peacefully quiet til 9,10, or 11 am. I love when the sun is beaming through the windows, but it seems like time stands still inside our home. I love feeling like I have two buoys that hold me up (AJ and Shaye) throughout the day so I am less vulnerable or emotional because they are with me.
I'm definitely not looking forward to the 1st day of school. It was such a hard, hard day last year and letting go is a really hard thing for me. I know my kids need space to fly, but I'm always worried that once they leave my side, something tragic will happen to them before they return.
It probably seems like a dramatic thought to process every day. However, after the experience of when they wheeled Tamatoa out of my operating room, into the NICU, and there was nothing I could do about it, my brain has shifted in it's thinking process. There was eventually nothing more they (the medical staff) could do and that made me want to grab on to Albert and our boys, sink my heels in the ground, and stop time so that nothing tragic would ever happen again. Unfortunately, that's not reality, but… It has made me so incredibly aware that I do not know the timing of life's events. I would love to think "well, that will never happen to my child", and that's exactly what I thought before we had Tamatoa. However, the truth is, no one knows what God has in store for you or what tragedies may change the course of your life in just an instant. Children are a blessing! They are a gift entrusted in your care. Sometimes they drive me crazy and sometimes I drive them crazy, but having lost one, has driven me insane!
I remember when I was young and I had been hoping that I would get this remote control car for my birthday ( I was not a dolls and barbies girl - every birthday I wanted a new remote control car). I remember opening the gift wrap and feeling like the luckiest person alive because that new remote control car (with no wire attached from the car to the control mind you) was all mine. I played with it every day! I wiped the whole car and tires down after every little spin I took it out on. It was the best gift ever, until one day I went off a large curb too high, too fast, and it broke. We are not talking a small repair/ piece chipped off and broken kind of thing. We are talking wheel popped off, pieces broken off, no spare tire and not super glue-able kind of thing. Needless to say, I was devastated! At the age of 9, I didn't know how I'd live through another day without this gift that I had so patiently waited for and so happily received. I remember feeling like my heart was broken. I know it was just a toy car, but I'm sure many people have had some special gift in their lifetime that BROKE, stopped working, got lost, or was taken away and it left them feeling hopeless. It's a terrible feeling and it makes you miss it more when it's no longer conveniently available to you.
This is how I feel about life now. I really do terribly miss a good thing when it's gone, but it has taught me to treasure what I have. I need to live in the moments I love, and drink them in even if there is a little bit of bitterness in my cup. Every day is not going to be peaches and candy, especially when you have children to look after, a marriage you're trying to nourish or other existing trials.
"He never said it would be easy, he only said it would be worth it." is a quote that I've leaned on my whole life.
There are a lot of days in my life that getting out of my bed, showering, brushing my teeth and getting back in my bed is a HUGE accomplishment. There are days that the whole house gets cleaned, cars get washed, errands get ran, workout gets completed, dog gets walked, homework gets done, dinner is on the table at 5pm, kids are tucked in by 7:00 and I'm feelin' real, but let's be realistic. Everyday, our best fluctuates, so as long as your best is as good as your best could be that day, then it's good enough. As long as those you love, know you love them by the end of the day - even in the midst of life's storms- that's good enough too. You never know how many moments are left to physically love those people, and believe me, physically loving someone and holding them is way different than loving from a distance with the memory in your heart.
Love like you want to be loved.
"We don’t know what could happen to us tomorrow, and that is why today is the time to start showing your love through small acts such as a hug and an “I love you” to your spouse and children and those around you." - Claudio R.M. Costa
“Tomorrow Never Comes” and is based upon a poem by Norma Cornett Marek.
If I knew this would be the last time I would watch you sleep,
I would hug you tighter. I would plead with the Lord to protect you.
If I knew this would be the last time I saw you walk out the door,
I would hug and kiss you and call you back to hug and kiss you one more time.
If I knew this would be the last time I would hear your voice in prayer,
I would record every gesture, every look, every smile, every one of your words,
So that I could listen to it later, day after day.
If I knew this would be the last time,
I would spend an extra minute or two to tell you, “I love you,” instead of assuming you already knew it.
If I knew this would be our last time, our last moment,
I would be by your side, spending the day with you instead of thinking,
“Well, I’m sure other opportunities will come, so I can let this day go by.”
Of course there will be a day to revise things,
And we would have a second chance to do things right.
Oh, of course there will be another day for us to say, “I love you.”
And certainly there will be another chance to tell each other, “Can I help with anything?”
But in my case, there isn’t one!
I don’t have you here with me, and today is the last day we have—our farewell.
Therefore I would like to say how much I love you,
And I hope you never forget it.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old.
Today might be your last chance to hold tight to the hand of the one you love and show all you feel.
If you are waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
Because if tomorrow never comes, you certainly will regret for the rest of your life
Not having spent some extra time for a smile, a conversation, a hug, a kiss,
Because you were too busy to give that person what ended up being their last wish.
Then hug tight today the one you love, your friends, your family, and whisper in their ears how much you love them and want them close to you.
Use your time to say,
“I’m sorry,”
“Please,”
“Forgive me,”
“Thank you,”
Or even,
“That was nothing,”
“It’s all right,”
Because if tomorrow never comes, you will not have to regret today.
The past doesn’t come back, and the future might not come!
LAST BEACH PIC OF SUMMER 2014
photo credit: my niece Taelor
photo credit: my niece Taelor
