We're taking Dr. SmartyPants camping for Fathers Day this weekend in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We haven't been in almost a year, which is completely nuts. We used to go once or twice a month, but the boys' tennis schedules have interfered, as has life in general and all that goes with it.
But this weekend it all slows down. We'll be waking up early to watch the mists rise off the mountains and staying up late to see the last of the synchronous fireflies blink (lightning bugs!!). In between, we'll saunter and stroll, nap and read, photograph and sketch, ride bikes and hike and just generally enjoy being together.
No television. No internet. No iPhones.
The days fly by so quickly now - my boys are growing into young men faster than I'd ever imagined they could. I look for my babies and see tall, lanky pre-teenagers in their places. I listen for their sweet voices and hear their deepening husky tones instead. I expect a hug where I tuck their head into my chest and it ends up under my chin and I wonder how it got there.
I can remember my mother and mother-in-law telling me, when the boys were babies, to hang on to those precious moments as long as I could - that they grow up so quickly you won't believe it. I knew then that they were right, but I couldn't really imagine it - that the space between sweet babe sleeping in my arms and sweaty 5'2" tennis player draped over the sofa could be so microscopic in size.
Blink. I have a baby.
Blink. He's starting kindergarten.
Blink. He'll be starting middle school this year.
Blink...
So. This weekend away is meant to be a breath between the blinks. A pushing of the pause button of life just to let us catch up a little. Even the pause will be less than a blink in the grand scheme of things, but it'll be worth it.
Sometimes those little pauses are the memories you hold forever.
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