Mia And The Moon

In a colorful sunshine dress, ponytail pulled tight, I watched my daughter bound down a moonlit grassy fairway yelling, 'c'mon Daddy let's go.' A crescent moon was directly over us. It illuminated the fairway so we could see our strides. The hills and bunkers of the golf course appeared as dark mounds to the left and right. The moon marked a silvery path on the ocean that was also to the right of us.

What a moment.

Mia was a few strides in front of me. She surprised me by taking off down the fairway, so I was only now catching up. She heard me coming. I could tell by her giggle. She giggles when I'm chasing her. As she ran, she kept stealing glances back to see me. She scares me when she does that because she's running without watching where she's going. But since we're on a grassy fairway, she'll land softly - or disappear into a sandy bunker. So I think its safe. Sure enough, her toe catches a nob of grass and she tumbles forward, falls to the ground and rolls on her back. Giggling.

I plop down next to her faking a fall myself, adding to her rolling crescendo of giggles.

What a moment - we're staring up at the crescent moon. Its brightness created a silvery lining on the topside of the clouds. The clouds were moving fast, the same speed as the breeze coming off of the ocean. Mia says to me, 'Look at the clouds Daddy!'

I was acutely aware of this moment as it was happening. The significance of it and the memory it would create was not lost on me as it was unfolding. For once, I was living in the moment.

I'm fortunate to have that moment. I'm fortunate to have been able to keep up with her and move with the ease that she moves. She has a spring in her stride that is gone from mine. I am still fast and agile, but it is a 'trained fast and agile.' Mia's speed and agility is effortless, untrained and inconsequential.

There are many points to this small story, but the one relevant to this blog and my service to you is this: keep moving. Don't go dormant. Exercise not to look great, exercise so that you can move through your life more effortlessly, whether that's hopping a puddle on the sidewalk, or running after your giggling daughter on vacation.