Day 23: The Years are Short

:: THE DAYS ARE LONG BUT THE YEARS ARE SHORT

I came across this quote in The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I'm thinking of it today because of the terribly sad funeral of my cousin's wife yesterday (the reason why this, yesterday's post, is happening today). Julie was taken by cancer at only 39, my cousin was widowed at 35 and their two young daughters lost their beautiful, devoted mother. It's too sad to think about really.

It's one of those things that really drives home how lucky you are if you or your immediate family are all in relatively good health. Rubin used the quote to take the larger picture in the midst of everyday drudgery. You might be "in the trenches" right now with little ones and you might drag your tired ass to bed at the end of very long days but soon you'll be looking back at these years (if you're lucky) and you want to enjoy them as much as you can. Hopefully the years aren't short because they've been cut short by death, but none of us has any guarantees.

I'm feeling extra grateful I get to kiss my babies goodnight and cuddle them to sleep. This is why Rubin embarked on her happiness project, she didn't want to wait for some tragedy in the future to make her realize how lucky and happy she was at that moment. I really loved The Happiness Project and Rubin's honest and self-deprecating insights into her own character. It does actually have really great advice too.

Today (yesterday): A long, emotionally exhausting day. A silver lining of the kids being sick is that Charlie was docile and just cuddled into my sisters lap for the funeral service so I was able to sit through it instead of chasing him around outside. No parenting dramas. Mia is showing signs of being as stubborn as Charlie was about not going to sleep though, she was exhausted at the wake but refused to sleep until nearly 9.30.

Mx