A decade ago I stood in this moment, unknowing that a few hours later I would be asked to be a wife. I wonder what my thoughts were in this serene scene. Was I contemplating the mysteries of the ocean? Excited about our recent move to the Bay Area and the opening of my new business? Troubled over a matter that then seemed all consuming but I now can no longer remember? I can only hope I was simply enjoying the present.
What I am sure of is that I had no idea about the details of my life today. I didn’t know my children. I had never gazed upon my favorite tree on the hill behind our home. And today’s challenges that feel like mountains in my mind were smaller than the grains of sand on that beach.
Now, once again, embossed in the labyrinth of the internet, memories of today are recorded. As I sit here living in both the past and the present, watching my children decorate a box for their treasures, I will remind myself to tuck into the treasure box of my mind the beauty of their faces, their eagerness to explore all the wonders of life, their unconditional love. And be grateful that none of this would exist if not for that instance at the beach.
There will always be unknowns in life. Some exhilarating, some crushing, and many mostly mundane and forgettable. But each has an opportunity to become a lasting memory. To mold and shift the trajectory of our path. Will we take the time each day to give those moments a chance? Or move swiftly and carelessly as we attempt to control the uncontrollable. I think, at least for today, I will choose to be present. To set aside the unnecessary and find joy with the gifts I have been given. And I will hope that tomorrow I can remember to take time to do the same. If I forget, perhaps another memory will remind me, and I will set off to create new memories to gift upon my future self. New reminders to live today!