Refresher course in the cotton candy clouds...

In 1989 one of my favorite actors, Robin Williams, uttered two words on the big screen that made a huge impact..."Carpe Diem."  I can still remember the hairs on my neck standing up as he whispered by the trophy case those words to young boys full of life and future.  Boys who already thought they were seizing every day but who really had much to learn.  My eyes still swell with tears at the scene where the boys all stand on their desks and proclaim "Oh Captain, my Captain!"  These boys had learned the lesson but would they remember?

I think the lessons we learn when we are young are forever imbedded into who we are as adults but I know sometimes they get buried beneath being the adult--you know, running the kids and doing the tasks of everyday life.  Then something happens and what we learned from that lesson comes to the front and everything else comes screeching to a halt as we shake our heads in astonishment that we had forgotten.  I had one of those this morning and consider myself crazy blessed to catch that brief fleeting moment that God had just for me!

I cook Ted breakfast in the mornings.  (Now before you storm off in disgust that I'm a throw back to the 1950's, realize that I'm selfish I do it so I have a reason to crawl out of bed...otherwise I would still be sleeping when Melissa drags out of bed around 9:30 or 10 every morning!  The hour after he leaves for work is my time...)  Well, this morning I had this nagging feeling that he didn't have his name badge so I rushed out the door to catch him so I could prevent an extra drive across town.  He had it, I gave him a quick kiss and darted out to the curb to collect my daily paper.  I turned around and the sky had erupted into cotton candy.  I rushed over and opened his truck door and asked, "did you see the sky?  Did you see all the cotton candy?  Isn't it beautiful?"  I know he thought I was crazy but the laugh and the sparkle in his eyes took me back to the night he first kissed me when I was young and had the world ahead of me.

As I walked to the house I thought about waking Jessica so she could see the pink fluffy clouds but opted to grab my "real" camera and rush back outside to capture a more professional quality shot so I could share it with the world.  My heart was full of anticipation as I rushed back out to get that perfect picture and the cotton candy was gone.  The sky was regular blue and grey...

I stepped back and was sad for a moment but realized I saw the cotton candy sky...that beautiful moment that let me catch a glimpse of the boy I fell in love with and it all made sense.  I needed to "carpe diem," I needed to sieze the day.  Ted and I celebrate a big one this year, the time has flown and the kids are growing and getting more independent each day.  Anna leaves for college in four short months and in the blink of an eye Melissa and Jessica will be gone, too.  I have to "carpe diem" each crazy blessed moment with each of them because before I know it, our home will be just that boy with the twinkling eyes and me.  So today we're going to make peep s'mores for Melissa's cheer friends, make some cupcakes with Jessica and make a Mocking Jay t-shirt with Anna. 

This morning, I got my refresher of that lesson I learned from Robin Williams all those years ago.  Today, I am going to seize every crazy blessed moment and strive to remember each and every day!!  I wonder what lesson refresher will come next?!?!?!