The other day, my wife made me my favorite dessert, Strawberry Shortcake, for our weekly family get-together. It’s a pain to make. The Angel Food Cake mix is easy, but the homemade whipped cream is a pain. Sometimes, it whips well, and sometimes, it just doesn’t. Cutting the strawberries is pretty cumbersome. I know. I cut six pounds worth. But everyone liked it, especially me. I had two big helpings. After dinner, there was some leftover Strawberry Shortcake—enough to have a big helping for myself the next day.

The longer you live, the more joy and pain you experience. Last year was a tough one for my family. Some untimely deaths, coupled with some health issues, left me and my wife reeling. Add a few typical setbacks, and at the end of the year, we were both exhausted. But as I sat down last night and ate my 2nd day helping of my favorite dessert, I took my time in eating it. At one point, my wife jokingly said, “How long will it take you to eat that?” I replied, “I don’t know. I’m really enjoying it!” So I took my time, and I enjoyed every minute of eating that shortcake. I wasn’t going to hurry along with something that I loved.

So, I finished up my cake, and as I washed the plate and was looking out the window above my sink, it occurred to me that I needed to be better about enjoying the small things in life that I love. Sometimes, big things in life swallow us whole. But they don’t have to. There are so many ‘Strawberry Shortcakes” in my life that I wolf down and don’t savor. I’m going to try and be better. Because I’m shorting myself of the joy from such beautiful and wonderful moments in my life. And I need them to keep me going and growing as a person. I need to take time to savor them. Writing this makes me hungry. Hungry for more of life’s “Strawberry Shortcakes.” I’m cupboard-bound!