Picture this. It’s early Sunday morning. After a tiring Saturday, a soft voice wakes you up asking “Tay, mag car wash po ba tayo?” (Dad, are we going to wash the car?). In all honesty, sleeping in is an easy choice. However, how can you say no to that sweet little munchkin, right?
Now, washing a car with a 4-year-old definitely is not the most efficient way to do it. Heck it even makes the usual 2-hour wash stretch to 3 to 4 hours due to all the playing and laughing around. I believe anyone with a toddler helping them would agree that anything takes longer with them around. Yet this little sidekick of mine makes the world of a difference.
‘Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered —how fleeting my life is.
Psalms 39:4 NLT Version
Easy To Be Busy
In this day and age everything seems to move rapidly. Remember when the COVID-19 pandemic started and we all tried making Dalgona coffee? Then in a blink of an eye more than 4 years has passed. It doesn’t help that a lot of things are competing for our time and attention. We could be so immersed in a lot of things yet be absent in critical junctures and aspects of our lives. That’s where these moments come in handy. Can you remember a time when you spend time with someone, doing something that makes it seem that time is slowing down? Like you have this own pocket of time, your own little space in this world and everything else seems to be just background noise? That’s how it feels for me. Beyond the responsibilities and demands of life daily, I feel profound joy and fulfillment playing around with my child over something as trivial as washing a car. We should be intentional in chasing and seizing those opportunities in life. Since if we are not careful enough, the busyness of life can steal these precious moments from us.
How Much Left is Unknown
A couple of years ago, we lost my brother due to an accident. No warning. No sickness. Nothing. One moment we are discussing about dreams and plans together, then a few hours after, he’s gone. This made the concept of our finite time and existence overwhelmingly real to me. Knowing that an end is coming without knowing when is terrifying. As a son, it made me intentional in spending time and reaching out to my parents. They are not getting younger after all. Additionally, as a parent, it serves as constant reminder that our kids will not always be little. They won’t always need us and show affection as much as we want. My little assistant won’t always be excited with the thought of playing with the water hose on a hot Sunday morning, laughing on the simplest of things. That’s what makes those moments of washing the car together priceless. That after that time is up, we cannot get it back anymore. No matter what we would give to have another chance. More than a chore, those moments become our little pocket of memories in our life. Seizing those moments before the time is up is what transforms fleeting experiences into lasting memories.
That Too Shall Pass
Whenever someone is going through a rough patch in life, you would probably hear a reassurance that goes “lilipas din yan” (that too shall pass). That’s good news! Unfortunately, this is also applicable to good things. Moments of value will never wait for us to be aware they are there. Nor will we have a second chance to make the most of it. No matter what season we are in right now, there are chances that we might miss if we are not paying attention enough. Especially if we are under the assumption that we have unlimited time with unlimited tries. We are in for a lot of agony if we think that way. May we be mindful of life’s seasons. Like how that cute little sidekick of mine will one day grow up. Not wanting to do car washes with his old man anymore.
I hope we won’t miss today by chasing our dreams of tomorrow. Now stop scrolling. Put down your phone. Go create your own car wash moments with people that matter.