My computer is now in my living room as part of an Ikea inspired wall-length organizational unit to bring some function and simplicity to my life, like what the Swedish store sells for real cheap on glossy catalog pages. Don't get me wrong, I love Ikea and how walking around the "showroom" floor makes me feel like we're trespassing in some giant dollhouse created by an extremely design savvy child. The only thing the great home store can't sell in a great assembly required package is authenticity: the richness that can only develop over time into a distinctive patina. You can pay for "distressed" finish, but it simply cannot replace the real deal, exposed to the elements over decades, flaws and all. Yes you might get a splinter trying to run your fingers along a reconstructed barn wood picture frame, so hang it on the wall instead with pictures of your loved ones proudly displayed. (Just like the portraits I currently have hanging in a row down my hallway.) I know that life has become too busy when the pictures in my frames show images of children who are now more than a year older.
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
This sage wisdom from Ferris Bueller
is not new advice. I will not waste time recommending how to savor the moments we're given or "stop and smell the roses." It does convict me that I need to take in and saturate myself with the everyday experiences that are so easily lost in the blur of months, seasons, and years. Now that our family is a foursome, those months seem to have expedited their passing even more.
So for my own sake, and that of anyone who cares to read these words, I will attempt to maintain short records of these memorable everydays.
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