Lordy, Lordy...

I remember the lazy days of summer when I was in elementary school -- days that never seemed to end. Plenty of time to run in the sprinklers, chase after the ice cream truck, ride bikes in the neighborhood, and play at friends' houses.

Grown-ups always said how quickly time was flying by. But I didn't see it at all.

I remember my senior year of high school, acceptance letter to Baylor in hand. The time seemed to creep along so slowly -- I was sure the day would never get there that I would actually move into my dorm and start my life as a college student.

My Mom kept saying how quickly the time had flown by. But I didn't feel that way at all.

I remember when I was pregnant with ChellBell, keeping track of her growth and progress week by week. 40 weeks seemed like a lifetime, and I wondered if the day would ever come when I would see her face.

Chris said he couldn't believe how quickly the time was passing by. But it seemed to stand still to me.

This past weekend I celebrated a milestone birthday of the big Four-O. Short of the party I have been planning for the past 6 months, I was not looking forward to this birthday. Not that I've dreaded it -- I just have not (like most people, I suppose) been jumping up and down about turning forty. Let's face it, when you turn 10, you are finally in double digits. When you hit 13, you are finally a teenager. 16, of course you get to drive. 18, you get to vote. 21, you get to drink. 30, you are finally legit. But 40. Well, that's the age when you are supposed to be all mature and have things figured out. You start looking ahead to the "back 9" and ponder on what has been instead of what is to come. Your investments become more conservative. Your bed time becomes a bit earlier. And time... You realize how quickly time really does fly.

As my friends sang "Happy Birthday" to me last Saturday, I looked out on a room full of people and thought about all the memories that had been made over 40 years with these people that I love so much. Each like a small pixel that, put together, makes up the whole of who I am and how I've gotten here. A room full of 40 years of memories is a pretty amazing thing.

And I wondered where the time had gone. How it had flown by so quickly. And I wished I could freeze it.

I definitely don't feel mature enough to be 40, and I'm nowhere near having things all figured out. But I do know that life is made up of small moments. And the memories that stick usually involve people, not things. And the richest people are those who have been loved and who have loved. And that life needs to be felt and lived and savored. And that time flies by quickly, so we must celebrate even the smallest of things while we have the chance.

Christie's 40th! from Rebecca Darling on Vimeo.