Brevity of LIfe

It's Cherry Blossom Season again - a short 3-4 weeks in the spring here in Japan. The weather has felt especially cold and bitter somedays and other days it feels warm and full of promise. I know this happens every spring, but somehow it reminds me of the shortness of life.

The buds are just beginning to open up and become flowers. Soon, they will be gone and replaced by fully mature green leaves.

It reminds me of the shortness of this parenting season. My children are tiny and ready to grow, but they will soon be grown, not in need of constant care. I need to learn to appreciate where they are at, but sometimes I mourn that its hard or that its not an easy path to maturity.

Rather, I should sense the time is fleeting, my time will not be forever, they will move onto other places, have other loves, other desires. They will not always cling to me, or demand my attention, or seek me out as if I'm lost and they found me.

Someday, they will want me but not as desperately as they do now when they are scared or overwhelmed or just bored.

So like the cherry blossoms, I should learn to cherish the time.  It is short. It is fleeting. And the life they have is precious.