Magic Moments

Years ago my family threw newspapers.  Dad had lost his job and we ended up throwing over 2000 newspapers.  The paper had a morning edition, afternoon edition, weekend edition and Sunday only.  So Dad threw some papers, Mom threw papers, and I rode in the truck with mom and rolled and threw papers with her.

One one occasion Mom and I had a terrible morning.  We had inserts to add to each paper, the bundles of papers wouldn't stack, and the papers were late that particular morning. So after a horrible morning with the papers it was 5:00 AMish.  We had cleaned out the truck, thrown the last paper and were ready to drive home and face the rest of the day. Mom looked over at me and asked, "Want some donuts?"

She knew the answer to the question before she asked the question, what teenage boy is going to refuse donuts?  Mom wanted some donuts that morning.

So we stopped at a shop and she got some chocolate eclairs and some chocolate milk.

It was the first chocolate eclair I had.  And the accompanying milk just made it that much better.  The eclair was still warm, the cream was perfect, and the chocolate topping was superb. 

I still remember the drive home sharing the eclairs and drinking that ice cold chocolate milk.  Mom picked the best combination.  We watched the sun come up and enjoyed a shared treat.  Never mind how bad the morning had gone, or the fact we were both tired.  With the paper routes there wasn't a morning to sleep in, we had morning papers everyday. 

Now years later I recall that morning with a touch of nostalgia.  I can also point to that morning as a reason why I love a good chocolate eclair with a glass of ice cold chocolate milk at sunrise.

A simple thing, a magical moment.  I've enjoyed a lot of simple things over the years.  It was easy when I was younger.  When I got married there were a lot of magical moments with my new wife.  Then our son was born, and there were a lot of great magical moments. 

Then more time goes by, I lose my job, we move and I eventually end up with a high stress job, a lot of demands.  My magical moments have dwindled.  I have got so wrapped up in work, and the stresses that I haven't even enjoyed a sunrise, or a sunset for that matter.  I haven't sat by a stream and listened to the water babble over the rocks. 

I realized I've been so wrapped up with the stress of work, and the long hours it requires that I haven't relaxed.

So I've worked on this, delegating tasks to others and following up on the assignments.  when things are going well I leave well enough along.   I was driving my youngest teenage son and we saw a beautiful sunset.  I took a moment to stop and enjoy. 

As I recall that morning so many years ago, mom could have just been tired, and lets get home.  We stopped to smell the roses, so to speak.  We stopped and made a moment. 

Life can get hectic,  life is tough, and it gets harder as time goes on.  Yet, make the time, find a moment that is nice, and enjoy the little things in life.