Where does time go?

Cristen & Grace, summer 2001

I've been mulling that over a lot lately. I remember looking at the summer calendar in June and realizing that this school vacation was longer than my kids have had in the past couple of years. I decided on no camp for them this year, because the possibilities for fun were abundant now that they are older and appreciate many of the same kinds of adventures I do. So I made a long list of things we could do together and we made quite a dent in that list -- with trips to Newport, Western Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Martha's Vineyard, Philadelphia and Washington, DC among others. So. Much. Fun.

But now, the summer is gone, and the kids hopped back on the bus to school this morning as if they hadn't missed a day. And suddenly I have a second grader and a fifth grader, entering her last year in elementary school.

How did we get to September 6th, 2011? Ten years ago I had a four and a half month old baby; I was a working mom with a job at a great company, and we were a city family. I close my eyes and it seems like yesterday. And then there was the event none of us will forget -- 9/11 -- and right now it is hard to escape the reminders that we are almost at the tenth anniversary of that defining day. How can that have happened ten years ago? So much has changed. How different life is. Every day is appreciated a little bit more as well. Maybe the events of that day have something to do with my attempt to make the most of every summer day with my kids.

And while those ten years have passed more quickly than I could have imagined, I don't want to think about how fast the next ten are going to go. I realized recently that in less time than Grace has been alive, we will be sending her off to college. I can barely think about it without a tear coming to my eye. So, while there are days I might be willing to sell my kids to the highest bidder, more often than not, I stop to remind myself that these days are fleeting and I need to hold on to them tightly.

And that's where photography comes in... with its ability to capture a moment that might otherwise be lost to foggy memories and the swiftness of time. My kids don't understand this and get so tired of waiting for me and my camera, or, worse yet, having to pose for it. But I know that when they get older they will probably also look back with disbelief at how fast time has marched on. And they'll appreciate that I had my camera with me along the way.

Going off to 2nd and 5th Grade, 2011