Life Appreciated: Like sand through the hourglass....

Life continues to roll on by - like it or not. I do find myself enjoying 'the moment' more but man the days go by way too quick. I am in my forties, I have been married for 18 years and I have a teenager... how did these things happen?? It seems like just yesterday that I was an oddly dressed 6 year old with bad hair playing on the playground of Glenwood Elementary School in Clinton, Connecticut running around with my BFF Barbara. We were loud, proud and so carefree and we didn't care who knew it. Now I am in the middle of my life and I carry on the tradition of being oddly dressed at times but with much better hair. Barbara still remains my oldest friend and on occasion we are loud and carefree when we get together...so some things really do never change. But my point is that it is all going by too fast. Oh how I wish it could linger a little longer and I could make the moments stretch farther. Watching my girls grow into young adults is just precious and I want to soak it all in. I worry about missing out on things, events, moments...but life tends to pull me in all sorts of directions and it can get crazy. I know everyone is feeling the same way. Thank God I am aware of how valued this time is and how necessary it is to create memories and preserve them with photos and the written word. I don't want to forget anything. I want to capture it all because I know it will be gone in the blink of an eye.

With that said we had a memorable weekend. Another life triumph of good memories to mark down and lock away. The beautiful weather stayed all weekend and on Friday my mom and I met up for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and then we enjoyed a little shopping. Saturday the girls and I headed into downtown Richmond to see the musical 'Wicked'. It was their first play and they were both mesmerized. I believe they will now become Broadway ~~junkies~~ enthusiasts and when we visit NYC next time we will make sure we have a Broadway show penciled in on our itinerary. Ellie surprised me the most. She certainly loves a good story but I was worried that three hours could be a bit long for a 7 year old. When I would look over at her, she would be wide eyed and she was either at the edge of her seat transfixed or pressed up against the back intently listening to every word. She loved the singing and dancing and special effects. Emma loved it too and she asked me several times if they were really singing because it was that good. There was a live orchestra in the pit and it was great to watch them perform as well. We had balcony seating, front row, dead center. Couldn't ask for better seats, they were perfect. After the play we met Glinda and Elphaba (the wicked witch) outside for photos. Of course I normally bring my camera everywhere but decided against bringing it into the theater just in case I was violating some privacy rule - I didn't want to schlep back to the car to return it. Sadly the photos I have with the two actresses are from my camera phone and are a pitiful quality. After the play we went and had Italian ice and chatted about our favorite parts of the play...it was a good day.

Yesterday I went for a much needed pedicure. I can now wear flip flops again. Woo Hoo! When I returned from pampering my toes, Ellie and I took a stroll down to the lake and around the neighborhood. We had her class mascot with us. It was her turn to take care of Freddy the frog. He joined us on our walk. After our walk we enjoyed our first tick sighting of the year (blech) and then I was forced to watch 'New Moon' with Emma. It was her second time that day watching it and she insisted I stay and watch the entire thing. I didn't even have a cocktail or painkillers but I managed to survive.

I have lots of photos to share of our memorable weekend and I am recharged and ready for another week. Bring it on but bring it on a bit slower so I can linger just a little longer...

the trees are in bloom... so love this time of year!