Sometimes it hits me, how beautiful life is right now. My husband and I watched the Season Finale, the Epic Finale, of The Office tonight. We have watched this show our entire married life. When the Writer’s Strike interrupted production, we went back to old DVDs of previous seasons, and even checked out the British version on the BBC. We could not understand a word they were saying, but it was the British version of the first episode, so we knew every word and could basically follow along.

We became real fans of this adorable, quirky show. I swear, my husband is every bit as romantic, or more so, than Jim, and I feel just as winsome and clueless as Pam – not always getting how much he adores me. Until he does something that shows how much he truly listens to every word I say, and he understands the things that make my heart flutter. He so gets me, and I am a ridiculous mess stumbling to say something meaningful and poetic in response.

In one of the final scenes of the show, Andy Bernard makes the observation that the whole time he worked at Dunder Mifflin, he was always talking about the Glory Days back at Cornell University. Now, he works there, and he can’t stop talking about his pals back at Dunder Mifflin. He said, “I wish someone would just tell you when you are living in the days that you will always look back on as your Glory Days. You’d appreciate them more. Someone should write a song about that.” (paraphrased)

While I was tidying up the house, doing the final dishes, polishing countertops and pulling that last load of laundry out of the washer, in every action, I was embracing the idea that these are my glory days. Yes, there are days when having a 5-year old for an “office” mate can be challenging. He sees me being at home as a free-for-all of playtime. I am simultaneously working toward getting a business off the ground, learning to farm, learning to garden, learning to milk goats and bottle feed baby goats, watching over hatching chickens, tending to rabbits, and learning to bake bread and can and put away all the food we raise so that we can live off the land. And be a good mom and a fun wife. Sometimes it is overwhelming. Sometimes I feel like I am going in every direction getting nothing accomplished.

Then Bean walks into my office, after building with Lego’s in the other room, and declares that we should play Candy Land when we have our Snack this morning. This changes the course of our day. Nothing else really matters much after playing Candy Land. I simply know that this little boy adores me and I want to cherish these moments I have with him before Kindergarten  All too soon, the house will be quiet. Everything will remain in its place. I will no longer walk out of a freshly cleaned room and return to find it in complete disarray. Chores will get done without someone under my feet “helping” the whole time. And I will miss that.

My parents had the most lovely outlook on this. They raised four red-headed daughters two years apart. It could be dramatic. When people would ask them what their favorite age was – their favorite age to parent – they always said, “This one.” Whatever phase we were in, that was the phase they loved the most. And so, I learned from some of the best how to keep my Glory Days always with me – because whatever I am living is my favorite part so far. I forget it sometimes. Tonight was a lovely reminder.

I hope I can remember it again when Bean walks in the door to Kindergarten.