As spring breaks open a new world for us—with light and color and longer days—we should not be so busy as to miss the annual message that the earth is giving us. As we’ve said before, each haircut, each set of outgrown clothes, each round of spring cleaning, each start of a new sports season—is a marking of the passage of time. It’s moving us closer to that thing we dread, our kids growing up, our kids leaving, our final parting.
But the point of this message is not to depress you. It’s not intended to take the joy out of spring. On the contrary, it’s to help you enjoy it now, while it’s here. It’s to remind you of how important it is…and what a wonderful opportunity it presents.
As Philip Larkin writes in his beautiful poem, The Trees
Yet still the unresting castles thresh
In fullgrown thickness every May.
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.
The past is past. The last year gone forever. The length of the future remains, as ever, uncertain. But now is now. The new season is here. Let us put our mistakes behind us. Let us stop being distracted or addicted or too busy. Let us rededicate ourselves to the reason we are here—to parenting, our most important job. Let us begin afresh, afresh, afresh.
Let’s enjoy this spring with all it presents. Because when Spring dies and turns to summer, so do we a little, so does one of only so many seasons we have with our kids.
Tempus fugit.
P.S. We created the Daily Dad Tempus Fugit challenge coin to help you value every minute, every day, every season you get with your children. As parents, we wanted a tangible reminder, something we carry with us, something that helps us constantly keep in mind that time flies, so we can’t take a single moment for granted with our kids. On the front of the Daily Dad Tempus Fugit challenge coin, there are two hourglasses—the essential symbol of the essential aspect of life: time—one to represent you and one to represent your children. On the back are the two reminders we parents need every day: “They grow up so fast” surrounded by, “All time is quality time.” To stop letting time trickle and slip through the hourglass, pick up your Tempus Fugit challenge coin over at dailydad.com/store. Carry it with you everywhere you go!
