Time Travel

I've lived on this planet for 30 years and feel pretty confident that I've got a grasp on how time works. I am wrong. When speaking of our children, everyone says, 'oh, they grow up so fast.' I'm here to tell you that is because they are controlling time. That's right, my child has the ability to bend time to her will and speed it up. There is no other explanation. I have these moments with Elise that are the most wonderful moments I've ever experienced. We'll be playing outside, rolling around, giggling and let's say we went out around 9 AM. We play for about 20 minutes and when we go inside it's 11 AM. I haven't quite figured out how she turns 20 minutes into 2 hours, but I hate it. As a child everything is about getting older, getting more coordination, exploring the world and doing things tomorrow that you couldn't do today. How often do we say to children, 'you're not ready for that' or 'that's for the big kids' or 'when you're older'? Children hear this, and they use their amazing powers even without knowing it to speed things up. They are simply dying to get to tomorrow to do more.

As parents, we are not completely at the mercy of time though. My mission is to learn to time travel. I've been practicing and for the first time am willing to share time traveling secrets with the world.

You must create a strong memory. You can't just float around out there in time, you've got to go with a purpose. Think of this as a time anchor that will be a place in history that you can return to at will. For example, sometimes when Elise is asleep, I sneak into her room and watch her sleep, listen to her breathing and watching her tiny movements. In moments like these, I am specifically trying to capture time. I want to slow it down to the point so that when we're older and she's speeding through life, I can recall this moment and it won't feel like a lifetime away, but rather just yesterday. I'm pretty sure that is why my mom sometimes looks at me and she doesn't see the man before her, but the little boy running around like a crazy person. There's this strange smile that comes across her face at times like these. I might even go on to continue having a conversation with her, but in reality she is gone to some place back in time revisiting a memory of mother and child.

Also, it is a battle. Don't try to keep every moment, you must be selective. If you try too hard to remember everything, you will hold onto nothing. When we were at the beach, I found that as I was trying to capture every moment - especially Elise learning to swim. In the beginning of the week, she was terrified of the water, but by the end of the week she was having fun and splashing around in our arms for long lengths of time. But when did that happen... what day, what moment. I can't remember. As the 38 Special song instructs, 'hold on loosely but don't let go - if you cling too tightly you're gonna loose control.'

Repetition early and often is the key. Start replaying days in your mind immediately. Once you've selected which memories to keep and which ones to let go, keep going back to them. Each time you do it strengthens the connection. It's like building the synapses in your mind... the more you do something, the better and faster you get. I often go back to a moment in time where Ellie, Meredith and I were all playing on our bed laughing rolling around. The late afternoon sun was shining in through our window and we were getting Elise excited to go to the park and everything was simply... perfect. This is the moment I practice going back in time to more than any other.

Just remember that your children won't stop wishing to be bigger or older and that their powers are remarkable. The worst thing you can ever say is, "I can't wait until..." This will compound their power over time and in fact you won't have to wait long. So, to my daughter, cut it out! I am loving you right now - except when you're whining... I can't wait until you stop whining... aw nuts!