AQ'S Corner

The photo of this article says it all my daughter, bundled up in her winter coat, proudly sitting in snow on a swing. We didn’t get much snow, just a light dusting, but to her, it was magical. While I was debating whether it was even worth it for her to go play in, she was already out the door, excited to savor every flake. That moment stuck with me because it reminded me of something I often forget: time isn’t something to manage it’s something to cherish.

As a mom, I spend so much time worrying. Did I check all my emails? Did I get everything done for work? Are we on track for the week? But my daughter lives in the moment and she unknowingly taught me a lesson one evening when bedtime rolled around.

I had told her she could stay up until 8:30 PM. Somehow, she thought I said 8:00 PM, so when I came upstairs and saw her already in bed, I said, “Oh, you’re going to bed early tonight?” She looked at the clock and realized it was only 8:15. Her response was cheerful, “Nope! I’ll take my 15 minutes!” She hopped out of bed and enjoyed every second of those extra minutes. When it was finally time to go to bed, she hugged me and said, “Thanks for the extra time, Mommy.”

To her, those 15 minutes weren’t just time they were joy. They were moments to be lived, not rushed through. Meanwhile, I spend so much of my day thinking ahead, planning, stressing, and making lists.

So, I’m making a promise to myself: to be more like my daughter (within reason obviously). To see magic in the little things. To go outside for the dusting of snow. To take my extra 15 minutes. To stop worrying about time slipping away and start embracing it instead. Because if my daughter has taught me anything, it’s that time isn’t just something to track it’s something to treasure.