The Beckstroms

Many times I have been caught in the trap of thinking "When I graduate from college, life will be so much better" or "When I have a different job, everything will be great." After often thinking things like this, I heard or read some where that you need to live in the moment. Don't say "I'll be happy when..." just be happy now! That has always stuck with me over the past few years and has made me look at things differently. Sure there are things I look forward to in the future...more time with babe dad, a garbage disposal, having a dishwasher, not having to go outside to get to our washer and dryer, a real couch that will fit through a door frame, a shower that's bigger than a refrigerator box...but I love, absolutely LOVE the simplicity of life right now. I enjoy our lack of closet space because it makes it so easy to not buy more stuff. We want for nothing. I love not having money (besides loans :) because I just don't shop, or plan trips, etc. This is a new concept for me and I was nervous about the very tight budget. It's opened my eyes a lot though. We are keeping it simple and it's nice and very refreshing.
I also love this quote that a friend recently sent me:
Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: 'The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.'