A tomorrow without you in it

I wish people learned to appreciate the precious things they have while they still have them. Nothing is guaranteed. Not even tomorrow.

It's so easy to get wrapped up in thoughts of the future or feelings from the past. It's hard to truly, deeply enjoy the moments in front of you while they're unraveling. However, I think when you become struck in the face with the reality that one day you'll be looking back missing those moments, you truly learn to appreciate them more when they're happening.

Sometimes if I'm out with my friends, or with my family or people I love, I get struck with that realization that one day it won't be like this anymore. It's almost like a moment in time when everything pauses for me for a second. I look around at everyone I'm with. I look at their eyes, their face, their hair, their smiles, I listen to the sound of their voice, and I smile because I know I'm so lucky to be able to have that moment. I'm so lucky to have every moment that I am able to have, even more lucky when it's a moment shared with people I love.

Every moment is so precious, no matter how big or small they are. Whether it's going on a walk or reading a book you love. Maybe it's drinking coffee from one of your favorite mugs or coming home to your cat calling for you.

Nothing lasts forever. One day you think these moments will last for a while, then the next you're waking up to the knowledge of having to lose someone you love, to death.

Its a beauty and a curse, but its life.

It's the beauty within the finite moments. Knowing these won't last forever and we must make the most of them while we still can. It's so that one day when we look back in time, we aren't full of regrets and wishes of appreciations not found. Instead, we can smile because we know we appreciated it all while it was there. It's such a precious thing to be able to live. It's such a precious thing to be able to love. Though it's hard to love something with all your heart knowing one day you'll lose it, it's even worse to live life with love not at the forefront. What makes life worth it are these precious moments. Those moments that you know you won't have forever to experience them. They're finite. Just like you and I.

I cannot stress enough how much the little moments turn into big ones when you get older. How much you end up missing the simple things. Simple things like my mom and I baking together and her letting me dump in all the ingredients because she knew I liked to do it, or my dad wrapping me up in this big blanket we had and swinging me around so I felt like I was flying. Simple things like running around the playground with my brother and making tunnels in the sandbox. Simple things like my sister rubbing my back every night we had a sleepover in her room. Sharing our made-up stories of the Gerlandians in a made-up world. Simple things like waking up to my childhood home with all of my family there at the same time. Something that's become more rare with age.

One day you're going to find yourself looking back wishing you were sitting in a certain spot one more time. Wishing you were hearing your mother's laugh. Wishing you were able to look into your father's eyes. Wishing you could hold your cat one more time and feel her soft fur and joyful purrs. Wishing you could be building Legos with your brother or playing hide and seek with your sister. Wishing I could walk through the doors of my childhood home one more time. One day you'll wish to experience it all one more time. Make sure you appreciate those moments so when that day comes, you don't have to look back with regret and a lack of appreciation and instead look back with a smile on your face knowing you made the most of it all.

Love, Sarah