



Buddha offered the advice, "The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly." This advice could not be more appropriate for me today. As my two older daughters are away at college and my youngest is finishing her college applications, I have been missing the past and nervous about the future. As I saw all of the children trick or treating at Deer Park Mall yesterday, I was overcome with feelings of nostalgia and thoughts of how quickly those years went by. As an infant teacher at a Bright Horizons Family Solutions, I often advice mothers of infants and young children to enjoy this time, that it flies by. I tell them to not worry about doing everything "right" and just enjoy it. I am sure that they don't believe me just as I would not have either, but I hope that they heed my advice anyway. At the same moment that I am missing the past, I look to the future and imagine next year, sadly realizing that they will all be away at school and then starting their careers. I hope that their choices in the future keep them near Chicago, and that I can be part of their lives as they work, marry and start families. With all of these thoughts can I follow Buddha's advice and live in the present? Can I not mourn nor worry? Can I stay in the present and acknowledge that life is happening now?