The Good Old Days
When I was three and a half, I became a big sister. I literally had zero clue how my life was about to change from being the one and only to sharing my mom’s attention. Of course back then children were not allowed into the hospital with the babies and I vividly remember my grandparents taking me to the waiting room and my mom walking down in her pretty pink robe to see me. Imagine my surprise on the day they wheeled her out to go home and she was not alone!
It didn’t take me long to warm up to my new little rival, but I’m sure I was still seeking my mom’s attention too. This picture is one of those memories ingrained in my mind. While Sesame Street was watched on the daily, I loved The Electric Company more. There was a girl on the show who always wore her hair in braids and apparently I thought that was really cool. This day, my mom agreed to braid my hair! I thought it was the absolute best and it made me feel like the “big girl” I now was. It was the best day!
There are so many core memories I have like this, some good and some less joyful, but every time one of them crosses my mind I also wonder how differently I would live my life if I valued the simplest occurence in the most ordinary day. I’ve heard the statement recently, through an Instagram reel of all places, I wish there was a way for you to know you are in the “good old days” before you’ve actually left them. For me personally, I have missed so many good days in the moment because my heart was not content with the ordinary.
Why is finding contentment so hard? For me, most of my life it has been due to comparison. When I was younger I wanted be the better athlete, desired to be the highest regarded child, needed a cooler car, and longed for a closet full of clothes that would make me trendy. As an adult it didn’t end. How I have dreamed of a bigger house for entertaining the big friend group I don’t even have or more money to create show stopping moments for my family with some elaborate gift or mindblowing vacation. I want to be the fun mom, the adored wife and the chosen friend so badly that I often miss out on the small moments and the important people right there in front of me that create a more immediate impact.
With age comes the reality of your own mortality and that of those around you. Currently in midlife as I’ve successfully launched children out into the world and am now watching the mom I didn’t quite treasure enough slip away day by day with Alzheimers, I find myself more focused on the “good old days”. Realizing every day is a gift and the reality that an ordinary moment spent with someone you love could truly be the last just hits different. I’ve realized those small, simple moments are the ones I remember with more clarity and they warm my heart the most. I have regrets that I didn’t appreciate how much I would long for those times when they were gone.
I’m giving myself permission to slow down and pay attention. To seek connection over perfection in my daily interactions. To embrace that simple doesn’t mean less when it comes to creating a lasting memory. I want to know for certain that I’m living in the “good old days” every single day simply because I was blessed to be alive and able to give love and receive love.
This doesn’t take more money or more time, it just takes more intention to live fully. Stop comparing your good old days to what you perceive everyone elses to be. Seek out something simple, good, and lasting in every day. Don’t miss the opportunity to realize in the moment that the good old days are here today!
