Sometimes I wish I could just press the pause button on the time. Just for a bit.
2011 was a year that I personally won’t miss, but that’s not what this little post is about. It’s about enjoying every day as best you can. I try.
Today, we went and did this little photo shoot. It didn’t come out perfect, but hopefully you get the point. We shot this 5 years later — to the day — at a little park near my house in South Miami.
Maybe it’s a message to parents everywhere. Maybe it’s a message that I keep some of my clothes hanging around too long. Or maybe it’s a message of how much I miss Marc Kevin Hall’s sunrise series…
Not sure.
Whatever it is, I wish you all the best for 2012. Don’t blink. Stuff happens fast.
If anyone has the answer of why time seems to be moving faster as the years go by, please tell me why. I’d really like to know if you have an opinion. Thanks.
~ Mike
Tags: don't blink, Growing up, growth, Hidden City Blog, Holidays 2011, Kids growing up so fast, Marc Kevin Hall, Mike LaMonica, Mike LaMonica's blog, parenting, South Miami, Time flies
January 20, 2012 at 12:56 am |
Wow, great post! I thought the pictures were of two different kids UNTIL I continued to read and realized that they were take 5 years apart. What an awesome way to demonstrate the passing of time.
Yes, you do have a big boy. I remember we discussed this before (my 12yr old is also big at 5’8 and #170.7 – he always add the .7)
Blessings in 2012
January 24, 2012 at 1:58 pm |
Hi Beth, I just gave myself another 40 lashes for not getting back sooner!
It is pretty unreal. I think we need to send each other food money as needed:).
My best to you!
~Mike
January 13, 2012 at 7:34 pm |
First time visiting. Love the pics & the writing.
and I was also not sad to see 2011 go. See ya on Instagram!! 
January 13, 2012 at 11:18 pm |
Melody,
So cool of you to stop by! Thanks for the compliment, glad we agree about last year and I’ll see ya soon! I’ll have to check out your blog as soon as I can. My best to you…
~Mike
January 3, 2012 at 3:51 pm |
Wow, Mike. Simple and powerful, as you always write.
At my desk, I have a picture of myself when I was a toddler, just to remind myself that I still have some of that goofy, laughing child inside, no matter what stress the day brings. That part of me will never die even in my aging body.
January 3, 2012 at 4:07 pm |
Maria, I learned from the best!
We’re both kids really just trying to own it like grownups. I think you’re doing it better than me. You know I wish you the best this year. Let me know if I can help. You’re doing a ton and it’s all great!
~Mike
January 2, 2012 at 3:20 pm |
When you’re young, you have very little that fills your life. You don’t have the commitments you have as you grow older. With those commitments, come timelines that we are always looking at, always aware of. And we reach for the end of those timelines constantly. We look forward to them. I think the secret is to focus, as much as possible, on the here and now and live every day as if, when you walk out the door, a whole new world awaits.
Maybe.
January 2, 2012 at 6:35 pm |
Hey Scott,
This is like free therapy for me. I actually do try to walk out the door to a new world and new stuff. Next time I get in a rut, I’m going to come back here. I just bookmarked it. Hope all is well with you my friend.
~Mike
January 2, 2012 at 12:19 pm |
I think that the older we get the faster time goes, because we start to over plan and over expect. As kids we just look forward to 1 thing… SUMMER… no plans, just no school. But as we get older and get responsiblities sometimes we just lose the fun… I wish I were 10 again
January 2, 2012 at 6:31 pm |
Do you really wish you were 10 again? Me? I wish I was 14. Just old enough to steal my dad’s car… You might be onto something. Responsibilities really do get in the way of all the fun, don’t they? Oh well, we’ll just have to deal with it…
~Mike
January 2, 2012 at 10:35 am |
Mike – here’s a blast from the past, but it seems like yesterday. Swimming at 70 Aviemore Drive – I remember you going down the slide trying to assuage the itch from a bad case of poison ivy. Best to you in 2012!!
January 2, 2012 at 6:28 pm |
Hi Debi!
So happy you jumped in here…I still cannot believe that one of us did not fly off the edge of that slide. Wait, maybe someone did, but I’m not aware. I still get poison ivy so I moved to Florida. For the hurricanes and fun stuff like that. Thanks and I know good things are in store for you and your family this year! My crystal ball said so…
~Mike
January 2, 2012 at 9:33 am |
It must be all that fun you’re having, Mike. Don’t change a thing. Best wishes to you and yours in 2012.
January 2, 2012 at 10:04 am |
Adrian, thanks for stopping in. That’s good advice. You too please send me a bill. I’ll pay it net 30. Have a great year. I know you will. All my best.
~Mike
January 2, 2012 at 12:08 am |
keep on doing this blog thing . one of these years ull get it. in the meantime health happiness n prosperity 2 family n friends.
January 2, 2012 at 10:02 am |
Keith, thanks for the good wishes. You know I wish the same for you if not better. If I’m a meh blogger, I think I make up for it as a good father…
~Mike
January 1, 2012 at 11:33 pm |
I’ve always maintained that the growth of children are the true measure of the passage of time. Just got done visiting my niece and nephew who are going through college and I can still remember picking them up when they were toddlers like it was yesterday.
Make every day a gift because it really is.
Also, one of my favorite vids and songs….
.
January 2, 2012 at 10:01 am |
Rick, thanks for the song. I hadn’t heard it in a bit. It revisits super well.
I still remember checking the car seat like a thousand times taking him home from the hospital.
And thank you for the gifts you give to so many of us every day.
~Mike
January 1, 2012 at 10:15 pm |
“Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone. I know that’s impossible, but it’s too bad anyway.” ~Holden Caulfield
The thing is, when you’re just a day old, you’ve doubled your life with the second day. Everything is new and unexpected as you discover your environment. But when you’re 18,000 days old, the next day is just another blip with very little that’s new. To slow down time, do something new every day.
Happy new year to you, buddy.
January 2, 2012 at 9:54 am |
Alex, that’s great advice and I’ll take it. Send me a bill. I just got a fortune cookie for you. It says your 2012 looks brighter than ever.
~Mike
January 2, 2012 at 11:04 am |
Good advice, Alex! Here’s to an exciting 2012 full of “something news” each day.