Pay Attention

I've been filling in for the secretary at the holistic health center where I worked before I had Em, and today one of the patients (an older gentleman) uttered a common sentiment in a profound way. He advised me to enjoy Em while she's young, and, speaking with the weight of his own regret, said: "You'll wish you had paid more attention."  

I like this idea of paying attention. It doesn't carry the same pressure as the trite exhortation to 'enjoy every moment.' I've been trying to spend at least a little time each day giving Em my full attention. Every last ounce of it. For me the trick isn't so much how to multitask, but how to single-task. How to ignore the to-do list sloshing around in my brain, and technology's multiplicity of enticing distractions, and attend to the present, to my Em. She usually lets me know when a moment of scrupulous attentiveness is in order (with that most effective form of communication--sobbing). They end up being my favorite moments with her, and the occasions when we connect the most. 

The future becomes the present so quickly, and the present morphs into the past with astounding velocity. So I echo my friend, and pass along a piece of advice worth applying. 

Pay attention.