What’s your relationship with time?

Are you one of those people who feels like it’s moving waaaay too fast or are you in the “embrace the moment” camp?

I’d like to think of myself as being pretty good at experiencing the moment I’m in and sponging up as much as I can into my grey matter, converting it into memories that will serve me as long as my brain holds out.

Ask my wife and she’d probably tell you something different.

As an old millennial (but, HEY! I still qualify!), I’m about as likely to embrace my phone as I am to embrace the moment.

But I swear to you – for the week-and-a-half that my family spent in the land flowing with milk and honey – otherwise known as Cleveland, I tried (and, to some extent, succeeded) to be present.

There’s never enough time with family. Nuclear family. Extended family. It doesn’t matter. There’s just not enough time. And, since we haven’t spent any meaningful time in our hometown in six (!) years, we packed a lot of moments to be in.

It started with a surprise party in honor of my mom. Not a birthday party or anniversary party – a Just Because party. My dad NAILED it. And, even though my seven-year-old literally said “going to stay at your house for ten days” on skype when my mom asked her what she was doing this summer, a bad connection and frenetic talking kid meant the surprise wasn’t blown.

The rest of the time was spent enjoying a city I miss dearly, decidedly non-keto-friendly food (that’s what vacations are for) and family.

And we managed to squeeze in a family portrait session with my favorite photographer – my sister.

It was a chance to embrace the moment with three generations of Wengerds (and a couple Roches for good measure) and I’m thankful for every moment of it.

Allison has a great take on our visit (and a ton more photos) here.