Shapes in the clouds

Growing up, my best friend and I would ride bikes around the neighborhood to exhaustion and then lay on the ground across the street from our houses and stare at the sky. We'd pick out different shapes in the clouds and go back at night to stare at the stars. I'd forgotten about this particular past time until my son starting pointing out dragons and birds and lions in the sky.

I've always been eager to get to the next stage in my life. In 8th grade, it killed me that I wasn't in high school. I graduated from high school in 3 years just to get to college sooner. I went to summer school every summer so that I could graduate from college in 4 years, when most took 5. My whole life I've been like that. Until having kids. Now I want time to stand still. To take in every day fully and live life every extent I can. Maybe it's because I'm older and realize every day is a step closer to the end. More likely it's because of the way I now see the world, through the eyes of my kids. I see the flowers, I see the butterflies, and once again, I see the shapes in the clouds.