Phil, the historian’s son, could be said to be a man of the past, constantly accumulating knowledge and artifacts from earlier times. As a teacher, I not only plan for the future, I shape it. But, Ben? Ben is all in on the present. Sure, he remembers any good meal or time he ever had in the past, and he pushes to recreate them in the future, but mostly he revels in the right now.
If this year has taught us anything, it is that time slips by, edging constantly forward, regardless of our plans or wishes. Ben knows, if today is what we’ve got, we better make the most of it! To that end we spent Christmas in Virginia, where we got to spend time with all of Ben’s grandparents, half of his cousins, his aunt and uncle, my aunt, and even some of Phil’s cousins and their families! We also managed to squeeze in a Ben’s Day Wednesday cooking session at my parents’ house. We bumbled around a bit, because it isn’t our kitchen, but in the end, we turned out a decent meal of Reuben Pierogi Casserole and salad, with egg nog ice cream for dessert.
In this age of carefully curated, camera-ready todays to post, I wonder how many of us let today slip by because it wasn’t picture perfect. Sure, I admire the posed, coiffed families in matching outfits, the in-focus photographic evidence that someone has their act together, but I find that constructing those todays, the ones for public consumption, takes too much away from my actual day of chaos and conversation, listening and responding, falling short and trying again.
As we wrap up this year of todays, and look towards a brand new year, 365 spanking new todays stretched before us, we wish for you what we wish for ourselves. May we not waste one single ordinary day waiting for the perfect one. Let’s live 2023 in the present tense.
