The days are long...

...but the years are short.

I ran into a friend at the grocery store the other day.  Her two boys are grown and married and live far away on opposite sides of the country.  I had Mr. Mister with me and she marveled at how he'd grown since she'd last seen him.  And then she told me, "I'd give anything to have two weeks with my boys that young again.  To sit and play and cuddle with them.  I never thought they'd both be this far away."  And before she left, grocery cart surely less full than it once was, her eyes brimmed with tears and she said, "The days are long but the years are short."  

As I walked away, grocery cart much fuller than it once was, my eyes brimmed with tears, too, and those words rang through my mind.  The days are long but the years are short.  

Isn't that so true?  I have often thought about that same idea without those words to describe it so well.  These days full of noise and activity and no down time can seem so long sometimes, leaving me exhausted and secretly longing for the quiet that comes after they are all finally tucked in for the night.  But then I look back and wonder how these little ones grew this old so quickly.  Literally, where did the years go?  

And sometimes I wonder what the future may hold.  What will they be like when they are grown and married?  Where will they live?  Who will they be?  That day seems so far away.  Almost like it will never really happen because at this point I can't even imagine the day that everyone will get in the car by themselves.  But I know the years will not slow down.  I will not get these days back.  These days where Mr. Newton giggles his way through the itsy bitsy spider and Mr. Mister reads his way through his first books and our Little Miss cruises her way through the rooms of our home.  These moments are such gifts, such treasures to hold onto.

So once again, I am reminded to be present where I am.  To love them well today.  To put down my to do list that will always be there, to look past the laundry and the clutter and the noise and to get down on the floor with them and hold them just a little longer.  Because while these days can feel so long, I don't want to miss the years.