Passing Time

This morning I seem to have that "time passes too quickly" feeling.  I wish that I could slow it down, spend the entire day playing, guiding, and giggling with the kids who call me "Daddy".  I'm so lucky to be with them, to learn with them, to share the fleeting moments of my fragile life with them.  Do any other parents feel this way?  I leave for work and feel a cord, my unseen umbilical, pulling me back to my daughters, my wife, and my home.  I return from work and feel the cord go slack, my muscles relax, and my giggle bone kicks in.  Sarah has been "hiding" from me when I come home lately, so that I will go and search for her, of course.  It adds an immediate touch of laughter to my long day and makes me feel so loved, so wanted and needed that I can only thank her by picking her up and tickling her to tears!  Last night we went so far as to build a fort in the living room, excuse me, a "tent" is what she called it.  "Not a fort, Dad.  It's my tent."  Okay, so we built a tent.  Have you built a blanket tent as an adult?  It's just as fun as, only less comfortable then, when you were 3, or 4, or 5.  It still has that "womb-like" sensation of being in a small, warm, dark and safe place.  It still brings imagination to the forefront and puts worry, fear, anxiety, sadness, and everything else on the back burner.  Maybe tonight we'll cook some green beans and carrots on her "stove", visit with Smokey the Bear in our imaginary forest, catch and release some ethereal fish and then settle in with some books before bed.  I guess that time doesn't need to slow down, I just need to savor the moments that we spend together.