Time

"All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on"- Henry Ellis

Saturday morning I went for a walk in my neighborhood. The sun was caressing me. I was taking swift steps as I tried to breathe deep breaths. I was anxious and I was trying to soothe myself. I took notice of the familiar homes and flowers planted in front of them. I revisit these streets the way I revisit a favorite book, remembering passages and words that evoke emotion and meaning inside of me. My thoughts always take me back to memories that we have made here. As I kept walking I noticed the swing in front of one of the homes was gone. It was up there for ten years. A simple rope with a oval wood flat swing . I felt sad. When Daniel was fourteen months old we ventured into this street. He pointed his little finger and declared in his sweet voice,"oval!" and I was shocked because he recognized the shape that he had only seen in flash cards. I was delighted. Afterward whenever we passed the house with the oval swing he would joyfully say oval. Obviously he enjoyed the attention that day and he took notice to the pride that I felt in his achievement. Our oval swing was gone, and now that it was gone I feared that the memory will fade. Daniel is ten and there are memories that I no longer remember with the same sharpness or detail. We are going through the stages, growing changes, during lunch this past week Daniel lost a tooth. His first molar. The sad moment for me was when he said, "you know that I don't believe in the tooth fairy." Another sign that things are changing here. Life is changing and we are changing with it.