I spent this weekend looking through a ton of old photo albums at my parents’ house and fell into a bit of a funk during my trip down memory lane. Instead of reminiscing with fondness and appreciation for what had been, I found myself longing to turn the present into the past.

Then Thais–so perfectly timed–wrote a post about her recent experiences taking yoga classes with top-notch teachers, which essentially boiled down to this message: “If you constantly wish the moment was different, you are only going to create a tense, unhappy life.”

I’m never again going to fit in a kiddie pool, believe in Santa Claus, or be held in my great aunt’s arms. That’s just the way it is. But for all those things that are no longer attainable, there are things today that are just as wonderful and deserved to be seen, acknowledged, and appreciated, things like:

Happy grandpops

Scenes that remind me of the opening of "The Golden Girls"

Day-before-the-solstice sunsets like this

An empty pool on a hot summer night, where I can practice fun things like handstands and flips after my lap workout.

Coming home to find that my husband takes time to tuck in our plush manatee and pug. (The protective flipper! Oh, my aching heart!)