Yesterday my little girl turned 5 and then I had a 2 hour homework battle with my 8 year old son. Having both of these experiences helped me realize that time is a crazy thing because weeks seem to drag on, but years seem to fly by.
Maybe our house is completely abnormal, but most weeks feel like a never ending Civil War skirmish where one side fires a volley and wounds a few soldiers, retreats into the woods, and waits for the other side to come charging out in response so they can wound a few soldiers and also run back to the woods. I don’t know if my wife and I are Union or Confederate, but it seems like no one ever wins, there is always pain and suffering (to a minor degree), and we almost always realize that we’re fighting with family in the end.
On the other hand, when I take the time to just sit and watch my children play, or see them open birthday presents on their big day, or sip a glass of wine and catch up with my wife after they’ve gone to bed it seems like time is just a blur. Where in the world did 5 years go?
The lesson I pondered last night after my skirmish with my son as I reflected on my daughter’s quick 5 years was this…EVERY MOMENT is valuable. I have to continue to discipline myself to stay in those moments because none of us ever really know the long term value of the moment we are in now. The Battle of Gettysburg happened when and where it was fought by chance when a skirmish turned into something bigger. The generals on the field of battle those 3 days in July 150 years ago could not have imagined the importance of what they were involved in at the time.
In the same way, we cannot know the importance of our daily skirmishes, quiet moments, fun, and toil with our friends and family so we owe it to each moment to treat it as if it is the most important moment of our lives; because it is, it is the one we have NOW.
Morning Run Guys 
Beautifully written, John. And so true. It is so easy to spend so much time counting down the days until vacation, or a special event, and in the mean time we miss all of the journey along the way. And no, your house is not the only one that feels like a battle zone at times. 🙂
Wondering….if you decided some week to avoid the homework skirmish and only say to J. one time: “you have homework to do” and if he chooses to ignore you and not do it…and suffers the consequence (if any)at school….what would happen? I’m sure that daily battle wears on all of you.
John, I will be attending the Coaches Development program at the Skills Camp next month and I was reading through your blog to get to know you a little better but I couldn’t pass up this chance to comment.
“The generals on the field of battle those 3 days in July 150 years ago could not have imagined the importance of what they were involved in at the time.” – I love this perspective! Hadn’t thought of it that way before and I think it has significant application to everyday life. Thanks!