My gorgeous niece Ashley is 8 months old today. I can't believe how fast she has grown. She hasn't started to crawl, but she is doing the typical "backwards scoot" so I'm sure it's only a matter of time before she's mobile- then watch out world, she's on her way! Ashley is starting to get teeth too! Of course she is like any typical baby and has the lower two front teeth (aka #O and #P) and has just recently started to get her upper front right tooth (aka #E). As the hygienist, this is very exciting- and yes i have brought many a tooth brushes home for her to start her oral hygiene lessons early! Oh how I love to watch children grow. I love being an Aunt, it's the best thing in the world. I can't wait to build an everlasting relationship with her as she continues to grow. Everyone always says, enjoy the moments you have now because they grow up faster than you know, so true that is. Time, how amazing. It never ceases to amaze me how out perceptions of time changes over the years and during different experiences. As a young child I thought waiting for 5 or even 10 minutes was going to kill me! Now, give me those 5 or 10 extra minutes to wait and I can fill it in no time and yet still need more time to do the various tasks I have on my "to-do list." School felt like it took a lifetime to complete but looking back I still remember "graduating" 8th grade as though it was only last week. The feelings and anxieties I had as a young teen don't seem to be that far off in the past. College? A wink in time, while in college I thought it was never going to end but now I hardly think that it made a dent in my life. I think while going through different experiences we see the same thing, depending on emotions involved. For instance, while under stress and in low emotional states I find myself dragging. The days seem long and it seems as though next week will never come. On the flip side to that, when all it happy go lucky and life is just "peachy" as we know it, the weeks fly the days don't seem to bog down and before you know it the month is over and we're welcoming a new season. (Now I'm not trying to make a point on time and our emotional state vs time and age, but it's just something I've been thinking about today.) As we continue in this "time" I've realized that it's all about remembrance. I hope that I am able to remember as many special moments that are given to me.
You and I are lucky to be healthy and alive. It means the world to me to have family and friends close, so we can build relationships and make memories. Today I had a very humbling experience. I saw a patient today who turned 90 years old yesterday. This woman lives at home, alone and has a care giver who will typically stay with her during the better part of the day. She doesn't walk very well, but is very able. When going out and about she travels by wheel chair. She does need help doing most things but is as bright as a pistol and sharper than a pencil. It is however, hard to understand her when she talks and she is very quite while speaking. As an office we got her a special birthday card, which we all signed, and a bouquet of roses to celebrate her for her 90th birthday. She was so appreciative. As I read her birthday card to her she cried and was nothing but thankful and touched by the kind gesture.
My experience today, touched my heart and I was happy to have had a special patient today. This kind woman just reminded me that no matter your age or health situation, everyone needs love in their life. Everyone loves to be celebrated at times. I have a special quote that I had printed on my checks, it says "Cherish the moments, share the memories" and I hope that we will all be able to do such a thing, for life is too precious to just be a passer by.
