As a little girl growing up as a farmer’s feral daughter in a forest of grapevines, my summer world was vast and green.
Long tendrils grabbed at my hair as I scampered across the berms from row to row. There were mud pies during irrigation days, horned toad captures during the dry months, grape snacks in late August, and vine-dried raisins in October.
I thought it would last forever.
As a young earth mother of the early 1980s, I thought my babies would last forever.
Chubby cheeks smiling up at me. Sleeping babies snuggled against my shoulder. Days spent discovering a praying mantis in the garden, lying on the lawn watching birds soar overhead, and naming clouds as they drifted across the sky.
I thought my babies would last forever.
Then life continued doing what life always does.
Engagement rings were exchanged for divorce papers.
New vows were exchanged for a death certificate.
I thought both marriages would last forever. But they didn’t
Homes were bought.
Homes were sold.
Children were small.
Children grew up.
Friends lived next door.
Friends moved across the country.
Seasons changed.
People changed.
Life changed.
Day after day, life continues to teach the same lesson.
Forever has an expiration date.
Nothing stays exactly as it is.
Not the grapevines.
Not the babies.
Not the homes.
Not the friendships.
Not even the people we love most.
At first, that truth was heartbreaking.
But slowly, it has become a gift.
Because when one accepts that nothing lasts forever, today becomes the exquisite and priceless gift that it is.
If a sunrise is waiting outside your door, go watch it.
If a watermelon is ripe, pick it and eat it.
If leaves are falling, run through them.
If someone you love calls, answer the phone.
Life is happening now.
Nothing lasts forever.
Forever is right now.
Life is short. Don’t waste it.
