Welp. This is it. This is the end of #Write31Days. It’s Halloween evening and I’ve just taken pictures of my gorgeous 14 year-old “Elsa” Princess and her beautiful best friend, Minnie Mouse as they head out the door to Trick or Treat. By themselves, of course. No chaperone necessary anymore. I’m sitting with my laptop, a glass of wine and the bowl of Halloween candy, waiting for little ghosts and goblins to ring my doorbell. My how times have changed…

Somehow, for the first time, we never got around to carving pumpkins this year. And no one seemed to care. It used to be a strict requirement, of course. We always had intricate and impressive designs. It was a highlight. Not so much anymore.

It’s funny, the passing of time. How fast the years fly by.  How kids grow up and seamlessly “age out” of certain things, sometimes barely imperceptible. And maybe no one notices but a mom or dad. No one needed Halloween cupcakes for school. Or cutesy napkins or treat bags. It would seem those days are about over here and it is a well-worn and bittersweet reminder to enjoy today. Today is the only guarantee we have. I don’t wish to go back in time– they were not always easy years. I wish to live out the days right in front of me fully present and richly aware. I want to stand by and witness in amazement who my kids are turning out to be, as my own life is carried along daily with so much love and beauty. I am dearly held in so many ways that make life sweet.

We only have what’s right in front of us. And we’ve got to try like hell to make it count.

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This was #Write31Days. And I’m out.