Just the other day, I had to rethink my own framework that exists in my mind on how I looked at time.
My daughter, as you know, has been the source of my inspiration since coming into this world early. She continues to be my hero and my muse.

She and I opened the door the other day to "check the weather"; something she wishes to do often. I don't know why wondering what the outside will bring became fascinating to her, but she definitely has become curious about how the weather works and why the weather does this and that. Maybe it is because she adores the outside so much, she would rather be in it than inside, unless it is "reading or learning time." Her words there, not mine. She adores reading and learning time.

This particular day had no special weather happening, other than it was 28 degrees. It was still nice, clear and sunny. Looking at the day with no other knowledge, one would think it was a gorgeous spring day.

She was in her pajamas as the "weather check" is usually accomplished first thing in the morning. Oh, but even this cannot be until after we get the word of the day. The word of the day was "Swarm". A swarm is a group of flying insects or bees. Swarm. Either that or "Immediately", I can't remember. Those two words were back to back so it could be either or.

After reading our word of the day, which she reads herself and the definition, we went to check the weather. We most times forget to reset the alarm and we open the door to an intense beeping, in which she says "uh oh Daddy, you forgot the alarm!"

So we are sitting there looking through the open door, the sun has just risen a little behind the trees, not fully up. Frost covers the ground, giving us the illusion of a small spattering of snow, but alas, we know that comes only so often. So with all the hope and carefree fun that every child gives us; with all the wonderment that comes from children’s' mouths, she steps to the ledge and goes
 
"It's c-c-c-c-c-c—c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c—-c-cc- Cold." as she shivers for dramatic effect.

"Yes, it is c-c-c-c-c—cc-c-cc-c-cc-c Cold. It is a mere 28 degrees today according to my phone's weather report." I reply.

And then, here it is, just the right now...nothing more nothing less....

"Can I go outside and slide on my slide?"

Remember, she is in pajamas, not 12 and a half minutes from awakening with her signature "Good morning!" (Life has not given her the wonderful gift of laying in bed, thinking about all the things you have to do, all your responsibilities, money issues, work problems, life nuances, nothing like that. It simply gives her the happiness to wake up every day looking forward to the new world. It is exactly what we all have in our Natural Success Principles and exactly the way we need to look and wake up every day! This is another topic for another day.)

So she is standing there in her pajamas, not 12 and three quarters of a minute from waking up, she wants to go slide.

"Baby, it is cold out there, you are in pajamas, it is really not the best time to slide at this moment."

The bane of my existence comes to fruition after I make my statement. It is the look of utter disappointment. Shoulders are dropped, again for dramatic effect, the worst gust of air that you have ever heard comes forth, the sigh from a child. The disappointment sigh. Oh my how I LOVE the disappointment sigh. Every parent knows it. You must stay as strong as you can even though you know you don't like to give your child disappointment in most cases. You can't cave, you can defer, but you can't cave. If you do, the DS will wield its power over you forever. Behold the number of times you have been in a grocery store and witnessed the power of the DS when it truly holds the parent within its claws. It is truly a sight that leaves one terrified. Parents the world over have had to have ceremonies to remove the DS's power over one another. Sometimes its hold is so tight, you can hear the sigh throughout the forests on a quiet night.

That is when it happened. She said something not very profound at the time, but what it taught me and now you, is very large.

She said, "I wish it was warm like summer again."

But winter is upon us. We get to see the tree limb shadows on the moon at night. We get the experience of red noses. We get real football. We get frost on the ground. We get teased with snow. We get snow. Winter brings so many wonderful things.

"Never wish away a moment." I replied.

Wow.

That phrase. That majestic wisdom that shot forth. It does not matter where it came from, it is here now.

Never wish away a moment.

How much of our lives are we wishing for something else to happen in another time? How much of that time between these two things are we losing by this one little wish?

I wish suddenly becomes an amazing thing. Be careful what you wish for has always been said, but look at even the smallest of wishes. Wishing for it to be summer wishes for all the time between this winter and the summer to just be gone.

Think about that. If our moments are numbered, then wishing even one away seems to be tantamount as wishing bad things. It takes away a portion of something that could be amazing.

With that being said, i thought about how many times even I have wished for moments to simply disappear.  I do not want to do that anymore. I want to embrace every moment, good or bad. You should think about that and do the same. Don't wish for a family event these holidays to "just end". What happens if it does and the next day you lose a loved one? What happens if you wish for summer and it arrives because you were in a coma?

The next morning, we looked out the front door to see the frost on the ground.

"I wish I could touch it." was the statement this time.

As my daughter ran through the frost covered grass, leaving her tiny little footprints, she began to realize that her feet were getting ccc-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-cold, I thought about how precious this vision is for me. I will never forget it. A little princess dancer through the frost covered grass, slightly bouncing as she tries to keep her feet as warm as possible, laughing and giggling.

Ok before you go "what a crappy parent" all on me, shoeless child running in the freezing grass. Cold does not cause colds. It was 23 seconds of running through the grass. 23 seconds of one of the greatest memories of my existence. Oh and no sickness followed.

So for this month and the subsequent year coming up, let's not wish away moments. Let's take every one of them with love and high regard, for if we wish one away, who knows what we could be missing!

Happy Holidays everyone. Here's to your tiny, little footprints memories!