We had a family get together this past weekend with my brothers and sister and all the children. Our granddaughters have their own rooms at our house for when they spend the night and they have clothes, toys etc. and it is their own space.

At some point that night my youngest granddaughter had gone up to her room and put on her house slippers and came back down to the party. When she left to go home, she changed back into her shoes and left her house slippers by my chair.

That evening I couldn’t sleep and got up to go read for a while and when I turned on my reading light by my chair I looked down and saw her little house slippers. Its funny how some things just stop you in your tracts. That night those little house slippers did that to me.

I realized at the moment how precious life is and how fast it goes by. When I saw those shoes, I thought about when my own daughters would leave their shoes downstairs and how that seemed like just a couple of years ago. Here I am looking my granddaughter’s shoes 30 years later. I was struck with a feeling of nostalgia and awareness of how fast time gets by. One day you wake up and realize that 20 years have passed while you were busy.

Getting older is scary. You began to think about things and events that you used to never think about. You were too busy living it and didn’t realize how quick those moments slip by. This Christmas look at the little house slippers (metaphorically) in your life and remind yourself of the best of life and what is important. The new phone, car or bank account do not compare to the importance of a little pair of slippers to remind you what matters most in your life. There will come a day in all our lives when there are no little slippers on the floor. Cherish each moment and be there in that moment. I think this may be the best gift we could give ourselves this Christmas. The gift of being aware. KT