The now

Next Monday I will have that unique experience of walking my son Sam two blocks to his first day of kinder garden. I have heard this moment described by many but never experienced it for myself. I can just imagine what that will be like and the emotions that will be attached to it. But life is filled with moments that are often missed. We simply are sometimes just not present where we are at. Last night my son came home from a meeting at church and wanted to get in the pool. It was a little late and I could have easily said "not tonight" but instead I followed him as he made a trail of clothes ripping them off on his way to dive straight into the pool. I followed suit and quickly dove in myself. We played and played until we both ran out of gas (well one of us did). Then it happened. The moment. Sam looked at me like a little man, his heart filled with joy and satisfaction, he said, "Dad I really love you". The way he did it was so mature that it almost overwhelmed me. My eyes filled with tears and then I choked them back and told him how much I would always love him. It was a great moment that I am glad I didn't miss because I was watching TV or something else. I look forward to next Monday but I don't want to miss the now because I will never be here again.