Sitting beside the fire pit at Stonewall Jackson Resort near Weston, WV, I glance up to see a houseboat inexorably moving away, its wake gently spreading and fading behind it. I catch my breath, because it’s such a perfect quantum flirt for life — we are, all of us, like that houseboat. We move through life, our passage cuts a path, touches those around us, changes and impacts others, and eventually stills behind us, even as we continue moving forward. I am infinitely reminded of my mother, whose 94th birthday would have been today.

Grateful for the reminder to stay in the moment, because, really, the moment is all we have. The rest matters not one whit. The future? It never comes until it’s become the present. The past? It was true then, but it’s no longer our reality or truth.

What an awesome, difficult concept. For a moment, I grasp it, I really grasp it. Thank you, mom. And happy birthday.