It started to weigh down on me, this constant mandate to enjoy it all. I wondered why it was such a common trope. Had they not made the most of it? Were they trying to make sure I didn’t make the same mistake? Why was it so important to people that I saw these as the best days of my life? It left me with a note of fear: when my children left home, would I be the one wandering around the shopping mall, staring nostalgically at babies, wishing for the past?
