I love listening to the toasts and speeches at every wedding. I love hearing the background stories of my couples. I love hearing funny anecdotes and touching moments. I love all of it. But I love it even more when someone gives a speech that really hits to my core. That moves me in ways I will remember and take with me for the rest of my life. At Heather and Mark’s wedding on Saturday – I had one of those moments.
Mark’s dad gave a wonderful toast where he admitted that the longer he lives, the more he realizes any profound thoughts he has were already thought of by someone before him. So instead of offering any of his own insights he decided to share a quote from Emily Dickinson.
The quote was…
“Forever is composed of nows.”
Let that sink in for a moment.
As Mark’s dad mentioned… everybody is always thinking and planning for the future. We have hopes and dreams. We focus on them. We strive for them. Sometimes we get so caught up in them that we forget about the moment we are currently living in. We forget about our NOW.
When in reality – when our life has come and gone… when we lose someone we love – it isn’t those big moments we miss – no, it is the little moments in between that we miss. We miss the now. The chit chat over breakfast. The cuddles on the couch while watching our favorite show. The way he kisses you on the forehead before bed and tucks you in. The singing too loudly in the car on long trips. The way she narrates your dog’s thoughts in a funny voice.
All those little moments in between that make up our lives… those are the moments that matter. The moments that lead us up to those big moments. Those moments of now. Our lives, our forevers… are composed of now.
I thought about this while Mark’s dad was speaking. I thought about how often I get caught up in the chase. I get caught up in running our business, paying the bills, and trying to succeed – that I lose sight of those moments in between. I lose sight of NOW. I brush James away when he comes in my office and urges me to stop working and come to sleep. I tell Chloe “just a minute” when she rests her chin on my lap in hopes of getting me to take her outside to play. Too often I put things first in my life that when all is said and done… won’t really matter. Will I remember that I shared that one last picture on my facebook page at 10pm? Or will I remember cuddling in bed with my husband and puppy? Will I remember blogging that wedding one day early? Or will I remember laughing together as we fall asleep?
All too often I get caught up in the future, rather than enjoying the moment that is in front of me…. rather than embracing my now.
So today – just this once – I’m going to blog that wedding tomorrow, because after shooting 2 sessions and editing 2 others today – I just can’t get this wedding blogged today (as the clock blinks 12:00am at me). Instead, I’m going to embrace my now… and crawl into bed with these two…
. . . .
(Just a reminder that I write/pre-post my blogs the night before. So this was written last night around midnight!)
