Writer / Kate Rhoten
Another school year is in the books. Where did the last 10 months go? How can the kids already be on summer break? It just doesn’t seem right.
With the completion of the 2015-16 school year, I now have a senior and freshman in the house. And it certainly is weird to think of that. To top it off, the youngest will be eligible to learn how to drive at the end of the year, and the oldest will be able to vote in the general election.
Last week, my oldest son was hanging out at the house looking for a movie to watch with his girlfriend. They ended up selecting “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” In the movie, Ferris says, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t slow down and look around, you might miss it.”
This is so true. It just seems like it was yesterday that we brought both boys home from the hospital. Why does time fly by? Do we cherish each moment at the time it is happening? I’d like to think I do, but we all know that there is always more to do. There’s more laundry, dishes, helping with homework, yard work and shopping. That’s just what comes to mind as I write this. The list is long, and this column can’t be that long.
All this reflecting over the last few weeks makes me want to slow down and enjoy ‘just being.’ The busyness of our lives sometimes gets in the way of appreciating the great moments that occur with teenagers. They may not happen often enough to our liking, but they do happen.
Recently, we have been playing Yahtzee with my grandfather’s leather cup and dice that I brought back home after he died. This has been fun to play with the boys, talk about random things and laugh about silly stuff. Now it’s Euchre with the youngest. He can’t get enough of the game since learning it recently.
It is these moments that I recall when I feel overwhelmed or need to remind myself of the important things in life. There really is nothing better than these moments with immediate family.
As fast as these years have gone by, I am afraid to think ahead to how fast the next four will fly by me. In these next four years, my oldest will graduate from high school and hopefully have completed three years of college. The youngest will also graduate and prepare for college.
My goal for these next four years is to slow down more than ever and soak it all in: every laugh, every heartbreak, every win, every loss, just everything. Raising boys is not what I thought it would be like; it is better.
Now I better sign off as I am missing out on some of those moments with my boys. Whether you have children or not, it is important to take time out and enjoy life. Let’s not think too much of the other saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun.”
