You're Gonna Miss This

November 2, 2014, two years ago as I'm writing this, it was a rainy Sunday afternoon that found me at my little cottage with Bridger. He was a junior in high school, and I was newly engaged to Chuck, and looking forward to our wedding in December. 

Bridger and I were making homemade noodles for chicken soup, and listening to country music. These were the moments I cherished, and I was so glad I was aware of just how special they were while we were together. 

"You're Gonna Miss This" came on Pandora. Yep, that was truer than true. With each passing day of his junior year in high school, Bridger's independence grew. He was good to make time for me, but his interests were mostly outside family by then. I smiled as Trace Adkins sang the words I knew by heart: 

"You're gonna miss this

You're gonna want this back

You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast

These are some good times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you're gonna miss this"

YouTube Video, You're Gonna Miss This:

There were so many activities vying for his attention; sports, Madrigal choir, high school band, his own Grizzly Bear Whiplash band; to say nothing of the heavy academic load of classes he was taking. Bridger was growing up so fast. The man child was on his way to becoming the young man he is today. 

One of my favorite photos of Bridger during his junior year.

We were Skyping Chuck while making our noodles, and in keeping the conversation going, Chuck asked Bridger how noodles are made. 

In lieu of a rolling pin, we used a drinking glass to roll out our dough.

"Well, you see," Bridger began, "when a daddy noodle loves a mommy noodle very much..." 

Oh, brother. Leave it to Bridger. That's our boy.

Photo credit: Chuck Bennorth

Sigh. I do miss those days. The easy laughter, the way Bridger arranged his schedule to make sure we had as much time together as possible, the mountain drives, the sitting around the table, and the private guitar concerts in the living room. 

These days, Bridger is a freshman at Dixie State University in Utah, making friends, enjoying music, and contemplating his options for the future. We enjoy our Snapchats, texts, and Skype and phone calls.

Autumn 2016. Shrink and her boy.
Photo Credit: Sierra Waters, despite what the watermark says. 

Chuck and I are already looking forward to spending Christmas with our kids in Utah. It's so important to dwell in each moment as it comes because it doesn't matter where we are in our life journeys, one day, we're going to miss the days we are living right now. My plan is to live as fully as I can in each moment as it comes, so I have the good memories to fall back on when the missing comes on strong. 

After Bridger's symphony concert at Dixie State. Dylan and Sierra are so good to support their little brother.