"Once upon a time, but not very long ago, my daughter was too little to walk to school, so we rode the bus. Each morning, I tugged her along the sidewalk to the bus stop. Each morning, I gazed impatiently down the street, while she stared in ecstatic wonder at the treasures in the drugstore window. I didn't particularly mind riding the bus, but I viewed a day off as a great treat. I'd think with a ping of relief, 'Phew, no bus ride today.'

Until one morning, 'Look, Mommy, look! A dog!' she exclaimed, as she pointed out the window at an ordinary dog on a leash. Then suddenly it hit me. The bus ride was it. This was parenthood, this was the childhood of my darling girl, this was life itself. One day--and that day probably wasn't too far away--we'd no longer be riding the bus together. And I was frittering this time away. From then on, every morning, I thought, 'Thank goodness, another day to ride the bus.' 

Now my little girl is bigger, and we walk the ten blocks to school. She still holds my hand, but I know this too will probably end soon. 'Do you remember when we used to ride the bus to school?' I asked her the other day. 'I remember,' she said. 'I loved that bus ride.' 'So did I,' I answered. 

The days are long, but the years are short."

I love that story! It reminds me not to "fritter away" this time in my life, but to savor the moments I can.Yes, sometimes the days are long, but the years are short.

Blessings in Christ,

Charlene