As a person and as a parent, you can’t help but find yourself wishing for the future. Even the minds of the most present parents wander forward. For the first nine months to a year after your kids are born, you’re excited for the days where they can walk and talk and sleep through the night. Then you can’t wait for them to start going to preschool or that summer camp or their friends’ houses. Then you’re counting down the days until they’re a little more independent, until they get a summer job, until they can drive themselves to school.
The paradox is that once they reach the next, you wish for the previous one back. When they start crawling, you wish you could still put them down and not worry about them moving. When they start talking, you wish for some of that peace and quiet you had before they learned their first words. When they’re expressing the independence you craved, you wish you could bring back the little girl who used to listen, who used to cling to you. And when you’re pacing your empty nest, you wish you could bring back that difficult teenager who drove you crazy.
Eventually, we all learn that the clichéd advice is the most important lesson as a parent: time flies. You’ve heard that you only get eighteen summers with your kids, but actually, you only get one with them when they’re one, one with them when they’re four, when they’re six, when they’re sixteen. In fact, every second, every minute, every hour is the only time you have with that kid at that age. You have to seize that time while you get to have it. You have to constantly remind yourself: tempus fugit…Time flies.
Which is why we created the Daily Dad Tempus Fugit challenge coin. As parents, we wanted a tangible reminder, something we carry with us, something that helps us constantly keep in mind that, as it says on the back of the coin, all time can be quality time. When we notice our minds wandering forward, wishing for the future, we feel the weight of the coin in our pocket, we pull it out and hold it in our hand, and we come back to the present because we remember that this is not just an ordinary moment—it is never to be had again. It is, by definition, special. And so, we don’t wish it away. We don’t let it slip through our grasp or trickle through our hourglass. We don’t forget that all time is quality time…that is, if we chose to MAKE it quality time. If we decide to show up for it.
You can’t take a single moment for granted with your kids. As you’re tucking them in at night, don’t rush through it to get back to your Netflix show—time flies. As you’re driving them to school, don’t hurry to get to the office—time flies. As you’re eating cheerios on the couch together, don’t pull your phone out to check email—time flies. This is one of only so many bedtimes with them, one of only so many opportunities to drive them to school, one of only so many nights on the couch with them—seize it.
Embrace each moment you get with the people you love. As much as humanly possible, be in the present moment, be with the people you love while you have them. Constantly remind yourself: tempus fugit, time flies.
Carry the reminder with you everywhere you go.
We are excited to announce our first ever Daily Dad challenge coin. The Tempus Fugit medallion is handcrafted out of bronze at a custom mint operating in the United States since 1882. The front of the coin features 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.”
In a world of constant distractions and unlimited obligations competing for our time and attention, this medallion is the perfect reminder to hold the present tight. We want you to embrace the people you love as much as humanly possible for as long as humanly possible. Because life is short. They grow up so fast. The Tempus Fugit Medallion is designed to help you seize the moment while it’s here. Time flies. Stop letting time tickle and slip through the hourglass. Pick up your Tempus Fugit medallion over at dailydad.com/store. Carry it with you everywhere you go.
