Moments in time

Today was a sad day. The world lost a simply wonderful man, a wife lost her husband, and my dad lost his longest friend. It wasn't supposed to happen, that is what makes it harder than other losses. Unexpected losses are always the worst. It doesn't make sense and leaves you with more questions than answers. The hardest part is the inability to say goodbye.

Mr. Davis was a great man. A gentle giant. One of those people that loved you the minute he met you, always had a funny joke, a warm hug and a kind word. He will be greatly missed.

When things like this happen it always forces me into reflection. It makes me take note of my life, the things I am thankful for and would be lost without. It makes me just stop for a moment.

It seems that life can get so chaotic at times that it is so easy to get wrapped up in things that don't matter and start to lose sight of the things that do. Unfortunately it is usually some form of tragedy that gets you back on track. As usual, the holidays were filled with places to be and things to do. As wonderful as the holidays are, it has been nice this week to settle back into day to day life in which the calendar doesn't have something written on every day.

Even still, the days often pass in a blur. Running from work to pick up the child, to get home to make dinner, to spend some time together, to go to bed. There are not a lot of moments that you just stop to just appreciate the moment. Not because you don't, but because there are always a million things racing in your head and things to do.

Tonight I had this amazing thing happen. Most of you that are parents understand that an almost three year old doesn't too often stop to just lay in your arms quietly. Those wonderful moments from infancy are long gone and they are usually going at 100 miles an hour the entire day until they fall into bed. Not tonight though for me...

Mike worked all afternoon and evening so it was just little H and I. We had a nice day, but the events of the day left me feeling rather sad and lonely. About 15 minutes before Hadley's bed time in which we would head upstairs, she crawled into my lap. She snuggled under the blanket with me and hugged into my body. She asked me to sing her a song. I began to sing you are my sunshine, a song my dad always used to sing when we were little. The house was completely quiet, she didn't say a word and I just sang.

I just sang the same song over and over. I watched my little angel's eyes slip closed. At the same time the baby gently kicked my stomach to let me know he or she was also listening. I kept singing, thinking of Mr. Davis and thanking God for this wonderful time with my daughter. It is truly hard to put into words, but it was so awesome to just appreciate each second of those moments. Those are the memories I will etch into my mind for the rest of my life. I stayed that way for almost an hour before I carried my little girl up to her bed and laid her down to sleep. I can't remember the last time that my daughter fell asleep in my arms... What a wonderful way to end a very sad day.