From Moments To Memories

That day, the kid told me, "I have finally cut my nails! What a relief!" I suddenly realized that I could not remember when was the last time I cut his nails.

I smiled wistfully, thinking about his younger days when I would cut his nails. If it pained him, I would exaggeratedly groan and tilt my head, saying, "God is pulling my ear because I hurt you!" This always made him laugh and helped to divert his attention from the dreadful nail-cutter.

Recently I read The Book Of Ichigo Ichie by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles. Ichigo Ichie roughly translates to, What we are experiencing right now will never happen again. And this makes the current moment precious, since there is no chance that we will experience the same again. I feel nothing brings in the realization of Ichigo Ichie as parenthood does, as we see all the small moments of joy and wonder slip away at alarming speeds.

Every day I deliver lunch to the kid in the afternoon as his school is just a kilometer away from my home. Usually I would put on headphones and listen to a song while delivering the lunch. But that day when he started cutting his nails himself, I left the headphones at home and went to deliver the lunch, all the while soaking in the aura of the school. The excited chatter of the kids, the teachers' commanding tones, the joy of the kids as they played on the ground during PT - someday all these would become treasured memories. I want to soak in these moments so that I can return to them years later.

For now, these are the moments I get to live, and as Ichigo Ichie reminds me, I intend to live them to the fullest before they turn into memories.