#155/365--Far Away

And when I say far away, one might think of many different things. Perhaps you think of relatives that live far away. Or you might think of a time in your life that is long past. For instance, in a far away memory, I am a child, playing in the snow with my neighbor. Or you might think of a far away time period in your life that hasn't occured yet. Like, a long time from now, I'll be retired. It's funny, really. Because that's not really what I was thinking when I took this picture.

I mean, other than the obvious...that we were FAR AWAY from the stage. But as I thought about my nephew graduating, I, of course, thought of a far away time, when I graduated--21 years ago. A lot of memories passed through my mind. A long time ago, in a far away place, I thought it'd be a long...far away time until I had kids. And then. I had kids. And a long time ago, in a far away place, my kids started school. And then. Not-so-long ago, in a not-so-far away place, I began to realize that the far-aways aren't really that far away.

You know how people sometimes ask the question, "Where will you be in 5 years?" Last night, at my nephew's graduation, I thought about that myself. Five years sure seems far away. But in 5 years, Lauren will be walking across that stage getting her diploma. When Lauren was a baby, I briefly thought, "Lauren will be in kindergarten in 5 years..." but that thought was fleeting because the next thought was, "...but that's a time far away from now..." but not really. I'm going to blink my eyes and it will be 5 years from now. Far away is really a lot closer than you think.