Time
How much time do we have left? How precious is time? Consider this analogy ...
A long lost Aunt passes away and you get a call from a lawyer - "You have been awarded a modest payout from your Aunt's estate. She conditioned this payout to be spread out over time so it wouldn't burden you all at once. You are going to be paid $100,000 a year for the next 18 years. At the end of that time, there is no more."

How would you feel? $100,000 a year just landed in your lap. How blessed you would feel! You would likely savor those first few years - cherish them. The cash would bless you beyond your dreams. You would start planning to pay off student loans, pay off cars, add a room onto your home -- get your immediate affairs in order. When that first check arrived, you'd likely run it to the bank and hold it to be sure that it wasn't some mistake and the gift would be reversed. But over time, you'd ease into the fact that the money was indeed yours and you'd proceed with your plan. Debt would start being knocked out and you'd hold onto some of the excess.

The next year would roll around and you'd wonder if the hoax would vanish or was it indeed real. Would another check arrive? Indeed, the check does arrive and gift keeps on giving and you'd proceed with your plan.

Fast forward 5-6 years. You've accomplished what you wanted to with that money and it has blessed you beyond words. By this time, you don't have any angst over the anniversary date of the gift because you know the check is coming. You start to take it for granted -- it's a given.

This story can go on and on but let's move to year 14 or 15. How would you feel at this point about the money? Wouldn't we take it for granted? Wouldn't $100,000 seem like no big deal at all? "Gee, that seemed like a lot of money 14 years ago but today, I can't do all that much with it." Wouldn't we be right there? Or, would we all of sudden realize, "Holy smokes, this thing is about to run out, it is about to leave me...I had better really enjoy and savor these last few years."

Where am I going with this crazy analogy?

Kids.

We have them and they seem like such a blessing. We hold them a lot those first few years. We cherish them and marvel at how they bless us. 4-5 years later, a routine sets in and they meld into the flow of the family. At 14-15, there are times we want to throttle them, tape their mouths shut and bar the door so the world can't get near them.

But here is where I am going with this - at 14-15, we have about 3 more years of that $100,000 check coming in and then it walks out the door. Don't you think after 14-15 years of getting that check that we'd kind of wake up and say "Man, I've only got 3 more years of this cash flow, I'd better cherish every moment"?

Time is short. Very short. They grow up so fast that it seems like just yesterday they were crawling around and trying to learn to talk. They won't be around much longer and rather than focusing on how hard it is to raise them, we need to be holding them, laughing with them, making memories with them because in a flash, they'll be gone and we'll be sending them checks to pay for college.

In just 6 years, we'll have a home with no kids. We've had 14 years of kids and we've only got 6 more years to go. With our oldest, we've only got 3+ years. She'll be driving in 18 months so really, we've only got 18 months. Once she gets wheels, we'll rarely see her.

Cherish every moment with your kids. I know they wear you out. I know they can be maddening beyond words but in ways that are 100x greater than the $100,000 check that fell into your lap - they are a blessing beyond our wildest imaginations. Cherish. Cherish.

Soar!