Babe, I don’t think it’s happened yet.  

What hasn’t happened?

Well, you remember when we first bought this house in 2007 and I sat in the hallway and I saw us living here and starting our family?  I don’t think I’ve had that kind of glimpse into the future moment with this new house…Wait, unless…

And then I remembered.  It had just happened earlier today.  It’s been a long weekend of packing and moving, so my memory was probably a little fried, but there it was, plain as day, my future right before my eyes.

Picture the scene: I had just unloaded the last box (for the day) from the minvan parked in front of the garage.  Tired, I decided to pause momentarily to catch my breath before bringing boxes upstairs.  I was sitting on a stair, while Riley and Olivia were literally laying horizontally on separate stairs (man I’ll miss this age when they were young and small enough to do that).  Suddenly, I had a flash forward.  Looking out into the open kitchen/living room below, I could see myself waiting with some anxious young man at the bottom of the staircase, while one of my daughters ascended in her prom dress.  I could see the smile on both of our faces, and the pride in my heart as my baby girl had grown into a beautiful young woman.  Now that is going to be a nice memory one day, I look forward to it, but not too soon I hope. I want to enjoy these years ahead of us first!

It was all reminiscent of how it felt when we bought our first home.  I remember sitting in the hallway chair eight years ago, looking down into the office, and hearing the voices of our toddlers playing, and seeing babies crawl up and down the hallway.  My wife knows this story well, she was right beside me when I told her in 2007, exactly what I saw. To look back now (both at the memories and the hours of video tape footage) and to have actually experienced it all, it’s simply amazing.  That’s why recognizing this flash forward moment was so important to me this time around.  It affirmed my confidence that this is the right home for us, in the right season.

When you can see the future, sometimes you don’t see everything, but you can get a glimpse of the things you need to hold on to.  For me, it’s hope for tomorrow, something to build towards.  I know that our family will experience peaks and valleys in the years ahead, that’s all apart of the growth spurts of life.  What makes it all worthwhile is both the destinations and the people with whom we experience the journey.

Moving Out, Moving Up, Moving On is the title of a great book by Sandra Boyton, which perfectly depicts my mood these days as my family makes the transition into a new home (among several other transitions).  Growing up, I never lived in one place for long (not a single house or a town).  So, as a father and husband, I made it my priority to ensure this happens for my own children, which is why we brought a bigger home to grown into as our family grows.

Now that I’ve seen the future, I’m looking forward to experiencing it.

SDW3