Precious Moments. This was the title of a book I had growing up and the brand name of adorable figurines that decorated my bookshelves as a child. But now, as a young woman in my mid/late-20's, the term "precious moments" represents different things in comparison to those earlier days, but all still as beautiful.
In the late 1980's, which capsules my earliest childhood memories, the moments that I recall as "precious" to a little green-eyed Southern girl include a wide variety of ever-so-found memories:
1. Playing Candy Land on the colored carpet of my kindergarten classroom with my best friend Eileen. I pretended to be the Lollipop Princess and she acted as the Ice Cream Queen. Still to this day, Candy Land is one of my favorite board games that I play with the little girls at church on Wednesday nights.
2. Learning to ride my bike on the straight, yet narrow street that rain in front of our blue, one-story house I lived in until I was about eight. Mind you, I can ride a bike like none other, but ran into every bush, telephone pole, and random object on the street during the learning process.
3. Sliding down the icy driveway on kitchen baking pans with my younger sisters and the other neigborhood kids enjoying the little bit of snow we might get once every 10 years in Alabama.
4. Walking into the water of the baptismal in front of a church full of smiling faces openly professing my love for a Savior who died just for me.
5. My first dance recital as I took the stage wearing big girl make-up dressed in my sequin covered Dalmatian costume with the white fuzzy ears drooping from the bobby-pinned black and white spotted hat.
6. Opening a box Christmas morning to reaffirm my belief in Santa, as it contained just what my letter to the jolly old man had requested.
7. Hanging my first report card decorated with all A's on the refrigerator with a magnet I made the year before at Sunday school.
8. The annual elementary school field trip to the pumpkin patch to find just the right pumpkin to carve into a jack-o-lantern and put on the front steps of our house with the tea light candle down inside.
9. Making obstable courses through our playroom, playing school and actually giving out assignments, and pretending our kitchen was a famous cafe where we took turns acting as customers and the wait staff. Oh the beauty of creativity!
10. Lounging two feet from the TV in my footie pajamas watching Saturday morning cartoons while eating an oversized bowl of Froot Loops.
Oh these sweet memories all replay in my mind as if they were just yesterday! Now, when I think about the simple "precious moments" of my life, a smile creeps across my face, my heart throbs with excitement, and the peaceful feelings of joy and completeness flow through me. Most recently, these moments have included so many wonderful experiences:
1. A friend getting engaged and planning out an amazingly beautiful, perfect wedding with the guy she's been head over heals about and only used to dream of dating.
2. That sweet couple finding out and sharing the news with friends and family of expecting their first child. Is it a boy or girl? And what will they name their new bundle of joy?
3. Walking across the stage at graduation to receive the diploma in culmination of hard work and countless hours of studying and research for that next, higher level degree.
4. A fun girl's night filled with good conversation over sushi and a bottle or two of wine at our favorite restaurant downtown.
5. Saturday tailgating on the Quad in crimson sundresses and houndstooth accessories before yet another game of screaming at the tops of our lungs in Bryant Denny.
6. The welcoming smile and the warm embrace from a dear friend from college who is now separated by many miles upon arriving for a visit after making arrangements for a spur of the moment trip.
7. Long, touching emails from friends to catch up or even just the simple ones to say "Hello."
8. Late night phone calls that leave me crying from laughing at fond memories and inside jokes.
9. Attending concerts and the excitment involved in the preparation, as well as weekend get-away trips to the mountains or a week at the beach.
10. Quite time alone on the back porch with a warm cup of coffee in hand as the sun comes up over the lake.
The list could go on and on, but it's these kind of precious moments that when reflected upon, remind me to smile when I want to cry, be thankful for the challenges life presents, and wake up every morning with a song ni my heart and a pep in my step. Through the blessings of relationships in life with family, friends, and significant others, these precious moments continue to be created minute by minute, day by day. Oh, to think if it's all been this sweet so far, just does the future hold!?
