Turning points

Do you ever look back at moments in your life and think, "Man, if I had known that was going to be a turning point in my life I would have paid more attention and soaked that in a little longer?"

Oh, sure, the big stuff - your wedding day, buying your first car, the day you graduated college, buying your first house, or the day you had your first child - but I'm talking about the little things that are less obvious:
The last Christmas you spent with the grandmother that then passed away.
The first time you met the person who you would eventually spend happily-ever-after with.
The last time you cleaned out your above mentioned first car before you traded it in on something bigger.
The last birthday you spent in the house you grew up in before your parents unexpectedly sold it.
The last time you & your mom went shopping before she found out she had cancer.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that lately I have realized how quickly our lives can change, usually always for the better. It also seems to me that those turning points never seem to come with warning signs, and so maybe we should cherish each and every moment that passes, especially the little ones, while we have them in front of us. Not only cherish them, but turn those little moments into everyday celebrations full of fanfare and excitement and wonder.

That's something my great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother all know how to do... turn the ordinary into extraordinary... and I hope that I can pass that on to my children as well.

What is life, if not to live and love?