Monday, April 23, 2012

instagram(s) of the weekend: time flies

we spent another weekend in omaha visiting family; this time, to take part in my nephew's first communion.  i'm his godmother and therefore his moral compass in life.  a role with equal parts honor and irony it turns out.

i grew up in omaha, in my grandparents house, a home that had been in our family for generations and was constant host to aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors & friends by the dozen.  it was loud.  it was often.  it was my childhood.  and it was grand.  

i took evan and alex by that house when we got into town on saturday.  i wanted so badly for someone to be out in the yard.  i wanted them to ask me what we were doing there and why i was starring at their house.  i really wanted to go for a look inside.  i had my first kiss on that front porch, a million other firsts behind those walls and a childhood of memories running wild through my head as i used to run similarly through the yard.


my sister and i have three little ones between us, all within a year or so apart.  as alex says, they are the three "scrooges".   watching them run wild and play together on the all-too-rare occasion that they get to, reminds me just how differently our childhoods will be.

i love kansas city and living halfway between each of our families is the fair split, but there are times when i think about how much fun it would be for the kids to grow up closer together.  it's one of the many compromises you are dealt in life and it has its fair share of pros and cons, of give and take.


this past weekend i couldn't help but be reminded of just how different the life of a kid is in general.
asking an 8, 7 & 6 year-old to stand still, in their sunday best and smile nicely is asking a lot, but watching them do this and have such an amazing time in the process is the stuff great photos and memories are made of.

i wanted my photo, but i wanted to stand there and watch them just a little bit longer.  the laughter and all-out hi-jinx of the process was incredibly entertaining and painfully nostalgic to say the least.

it made me long for the days when they would have more time to spend together and silently mourn all the ones that have already passed them by.

we work hard and we play hard and our schedules are usually maxed.  we come and go and go and go and most of the time, we barely catch our breath it seems.

i snapped a series of photos of the kids this weekend that reminded me how quickly time flies by.
seeing them all dressed up and all growing up, made desperately wish i could slow down the hands of time, if even just for a second.  these two in particular do such a number on my heart.


they're growing up so differently, but growing up all the same.  with so much yet to learn, i thought it was worth noting that i can still learn a thing or two from them.

as we get older, we tend to forget just how much fun it is to be a kid, to be silly, to be wild and to run around with neither point nor purpose.  at that age we know not what lies in the road ahead nor is there any realization of the complexities that will meet us along the way.   today, what surrounds me most are the constant reminders that they are only young this once and we, regardless of age, are only on earth for that same measurement of time.


i think its only natural to wish for more time to do the things you enjoy and be near the people you love.  at the end of the day there isn't much you can do to keep anyone from growing up so quickly.  i'm trying hard to remember to slow down and enjoy the little things in life.  moments like these go by so quickly and all you can really do is stop every once and while to notice them and take a picture to make them last a little longer. 

4 comments:

  1. Might as well put this one in the "Lovey" file...another tear-jerker! Very sweet (sniff, sniff).

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  2. Very tender and yes, VERY VERY true!

    Thank you, Kelly, for your beautiful observations.
    love from Aunt Claire in Michigan

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  3. Nooo, this is making me teary eyed. You have a beautiful family. Makes me miss mine!

    ReplyDelete

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