Aunt Angela

Today was the first day I've seen Aunt Angela -- or any of my extended family -- in over 20 years So the middle-aged firecracker I remember is now an elderly woman, although she hasn't slowed down much, bless her soul.

As we sat on the beach together, she reminisced about family, both here and gone. And Angela recalled her mother as she approached middle-age, telling her that life passed by so quickly. Angela was just a girl at the time, but now she's had her own children, watched them grow up and then have children of their own.

And Angela asked aloud, where did the time go? It seemed like only yesterday she was a new mother trying to manage the rigors of parenthood.

And I wonder how quickly these moments -- when I'm often so harried and exhausted from caring for young children -- will pass for me. And if I've really appreciated the time I've been given.

The days are long, but the years are short.