We all have one. It’s simply a matter of what we value.

While scurrying through my room this morning in search of one book, I wound up digging up a true treasure. No, not one with diamonds, and gold coins, and tiaras. This treasure is one I knew I had, but for some reason over time I had misplaced it. The past couple weeks though I’d been thinking about it, and wondering where I could possibly have stashed it. And, I suppose, in some ways, wishing I had a treasure map to help me hunt it down.

This morning, when I was looking for something completely different, it showed up in a stack of notebooks, dusty (ahem, yes… okay fine… my least favorite chore is dusting okay!) Anyway, back to my adventure…

I found it in the middle of my stack of notebooks. I have this “thing” about notebooks. I buy one so I can write in it, enjoy it for a while, then I’m off on the search for another awesome notebook. You can NEVER have enough. And in my house, you can find them everywhere, only partially used. But full of random thoughts, notes… and grocery lists.

But THIS treasured notebook is one I shared with my daughter. It is priceless.

When she was younger, I found my days were so full of busyness, and sometimes crabbiness, and simply daily “stuff” that I didn’t want to miss moments with my daughter sharing her thoughts with me. She’d write something to me before she went to bed, and sometimes draw pictures. (More often than I did, as she pointed out.) Then I would have my response to her ready for when she woke up in the morning. We did great for a while, then time would slip by and we’d pick it back up a few months later. Oh how I wish we had kept it up ALL the way through. But even this small glimpse into her childhood and her thoughts was such a precious thing to wake up to this morning.

It is so cool reading back through the questions she asked and answered, and comparing her hopes and dreams for a future, husband, family, and work, and seeing how well she did following her dreams. Reading through the notebook, and looking at the dates, I can remember writing in them and wondering what the future held for her, and thinking how LONG it was going to be before I could see the beautiful, young woman she was going to be. That was 16 years ago. She is now happily married to a “funny, silly, smart man with a strong character” and has a son who I can see is going to grow up to be like his dad “funny, silly, smart and strong in character, and hopefully more munchkins in the future…

Time & Season… It’s all in perspective. Taking care of the moments of today, build strong relationships for all our tomorrows.