Making Memories?

Camping is a bit like living a “Little House On The Prairie” episode. There are definitely moments as I’m foraging for water, firewood, or washing dishes in a bin at the campsite that I question my sanity and wonder why I didn’t instead choose to tour a charming European city or float away on a raft at some exotic 4-star hotel resort. Hmmm, good question. Camping? Really?One night as I was walking back along the gravel roads of the campgrounds to our site, my now taller-than-me teenager sped by me on his bike and just as quickly as he passed by me, I was pulled into the undertow of a wave of nostalgia…sweet, heart-tugging memories. Yes, this place and this silly annual camping trip is steeped in memories and quality family time, the likes of which I don’t get to experience much of during the rest of the year.It seemed like it was only yesterday that, that same young man was nudging me to come see him do a pop a wheely on his bike over a road bump, to ride around the site with him, or to come crabbing down on the docks. This place holds a part of my heart and of my soul, and it is for that very reason that I return like a homing pigeon each year…to reclaim a piece of that memory bank and create new ones.Feeling particularly sappy recounting this treasure trove of remembrances, I walked down to the docks at sunset to bask in some of that small-child energy of those days gone past. As energetic little sun-kissed beings ran excitedly up and down the docks, screaming out to one another about their crabbing conquests, I was transported and reconnected to some of my own days gone by. My heart swooned with emotion and I wanted to run up to every parent and say, cherish this, hold onto it, don’t take it for granted, it passes too quickly (and in fact I did mention it to a few). But they couldn’t possibly truly hear what I was saying from their vantage point in the midst of it all - probably yearning for a moment of peace and quiet.The reality is that there is sweetness within all moments, all stages of life. Sometimes we wrap our tentacles so ferociously around our memories that we forget to make new ones. Be here now. Tap into life’s gifts – each day presents an abundance for the taking. Today’s gifts, tomorrow’s memories.Take nothing for granted. Your heart has a capacity beyond your wildest imagination to store these precious treasures. What’s happening around you today that you want to hold onto with both hands?