525,600 Minutes - How Do YOU Measure a Year?

I was just about to turn off the computer and my daughter (who is 6) bring me the movie Rent and asks to watch it. We've watched it before and I love the music and anyway - this isn't a movie review...but the song started going through my head:

525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year in a life?

I decided to write about that very question and the children are now watching twenty minutes of one of the Star Wars Trilogy before bed. So now you know the history, let's get back to the topic at hand.

This post isn't going to be very long because I want to hear from you instead of chatting your ear off with my own ideas.

Do you measure your year by:

*Work days?

*Vacation days?

*Chemo treatments?

*School days?

*Cups of coffee?

Would you measure the year differently if you were given only a year to live?

I can tell you that having children changed how I measure things. Can you believe that in less than ten years my daughter will be driving? That's right...it's already been six years since the day I first held her in my arms. I was nearly brought to my knees watching her bounce on the diving board and plummet into ten feet of water - I turned to my girlfriend and said "really? it was just yesterday I was reminding everyone to hold her neck and head, wasn't it?"

I remember wondering what the word "mommy" would sound like when it was directed toward me ... now I hear it so many times each day that I no longer count them.

How do I measure my year? Well, at our house, mom stays in bed until everyone is awake. I'm awake and usually working on the computer, but I'm physically still under the covers. I wait there until the children come in and they crawl in with me for our morning snuggle time. I know I can count on this every morning and I look forward to it as much (if not more) than the children do. We wrap our arms around one another and tease about who has the stinkiest morning breath. We sing goofy songs and tickle one another and talk about our plans for the day. Because I know the children won't want to do this when they are teenagers, I would tell you this is the way I currently measure my year. Ten years from now, I may measure my year in an entirely different way.

Now it's your turn - how do you measure your year and why? What's most important to you right now?

May your paths be abundantly filled with lemons, sugar, sunshine, and 525,600 minutes of happiness each and every year!

Love,
~Crystal