Old Year's Reflection, New Year's Direction

"Live each day as if it was your last."  

"Enjoy the moment."

"Stop and smell the roses."

All things way easier said than done.

I only ponder those statements right now because this has been a great year and I really feel like hitting the "pause button." My four-year-old is now reading and has advanced incredibly in the short time since I wrote . My baby turned one this year, and while it is such an , it's an even greater feeling watching them develop, play, and grow together.

As straight as I can put it - they are both at amazing ages and I simply want to hit the "pause button" and enjoy things exactly as they are for a while. This coming from a guy who loves development more than anything. I'm always claiming that, “I can't wait until he is able to do this," or, "I wonder what it is going to be like when he is doing that?"

So, in a sense, I'm fighting against my instinctive nature of being eager to see more and more out of my boys with the recognition that they are both at great ages right now and I not only want to stop and smell the roses, I want to jump out of the car while it's running so I can't even think about getting back in.  

But alas, life is a straight line (on a winding road) and there is simply no way to stop the advance of Father Time.

Yes, the same Father Time who is going to check in with us very shortly and ring in the New Year (along with Ryan Seacrest) and officially close the books on 2011.  I have a few resolutions kicking around in my head, you know, the typical ones that many of us have: diet, exercise, reduce road rage, stop being late for stuff, run a marathon, etc., but my main goal is simply to try harder to enjoy the moment.

If the one-year-old wants to be cute and suck his thumb, then I'm all for it. Yet, if he wants to start pointing at pictures of his mom and saying "Mah Mah" (Boston accent) then I'm all for that as well. If the four-year-old wants to snuggle with his daddy on the couch toward the end of the night when he is getting tired, then I'm all for that. Yet, if he wants to start handing out Christmas gifts to his grandparents instead of maniacally opening all of his at once, then I'll scratch my head a little bit and think, "I never did that," but will be all for that as well.

There it is. Whatever comes, comes. Whatever is, is.  

There is no "pause button" in real life, but I believe you can find something similar to a "slow button." Do they even have slow buttons anymore? Either way, you get the point. Enjoy the moments when your kid(s) act a year younger as much as you enjoy the moments when they act a year older.

Wishing all of my readers a safe and happy New Year’s Eve and best of luck with all of your goals for 2012.

'Brad the Dad' is a parent columnist and can be reached at bradmarmo@gmail.com.  Follow him on Facebook or Twitter: @readbradthedad