It's Only a Missing Trampoline

This subject has been a theme of a few of my past posts but it came up for me again so strong yesterday. Live in the moment. Be happy on the way to where you're going.

I was walking through the neighborhood yesterday more for fresh air then exercise. I walked past two homes that always make me a bit sad. Even writing about them make me tear up a bit. What could be so sad about these homes? (Maybe nostalgic would be a better word) One of them is the home of a boy Nick ran with a little in the neighborhood, the other is just a home that I had noticed over the years included young girls Nick's age.  They both show signs of life passing on.  The one boy, Robbie had an above ground pool in his backyard the other had a big trampoline.

Neither of those objects are there now because the kids are grown and off to college and they were no longer being used. You see now? I've taken down our trampoline too. 

I always admired the house where the girls lived. There was something about it. It wasn't actually on my street, but around the corner. I happened to see one of the girls pull up in her car on a weekend, a typical college girl home for the weekend with a bundle of dirty clothes and her mother anxiously waiting on the porch. Of course I don't know if she was anxiously waiting- but I felt she might be. Her daughter coming home for a weekend. I always am when Nick comes home.  
(An additional moral to this story- I always wanted to go up and introduce myself to them because I thought we probably would have some things in common. I never did. Now when I see them I want to ask them how they're doing with their girls gone.)

Anyway- I feel that in addition to signifying the passing of time, the reason the missing tramps and pool make me sad is that they remind me that I didn't live in the moment when those moments where happening. So those moments being gone are even more bitter-sweet. The grind of life or of constantly looking for the next thing, or being happy when..... can steal the now. Then the now is gone. Sometimes it's almost as if they never existed. Did I have little boys in my backyard getting dirty on the trampoline? How can this much time have passed?  Wish I knew then what I know now. Really try to live, take in, breath in the good times.  I still find myself allowing my mind to go into overdrive and stress out and miss things. But I do better.  Alli & Nick- do better now.

Luv ya,