There’s a certain magic in the golden hour, that brief window when the world slows down, the sun softens, and everything seems to be wrapped in a warm light. Lately, my boys have been noticing it too, and to them, every color feels like a discovery. With the time change recently, the sun sets right as we drive home, and from the back seat I’ll hear little voices gasp: “It’s so beautiful!” “It’s so cute!”

And it is. The sky blazes in pink and gold, and for a few moments, the kids just take it in. It makes me pause too. Because for them, every sunset is new. They’re seeing the world for the very first time, and it’s full of wonder. How beautiful.

It makes me realize how easy it is for us to rush through life, our heads filled with the lists of things to get done, dinner meal prep, work messages, homework, bedtime routines, without stopping to notice the beauty tucked between it all. But when I look through their eyes, I remember: this is their first time exploring the world. To see the world not for what it all does, but for what it all is. Their awe pulls us back into the present. And it’s a privilege to witness that wonder up close. It is so hard to remember this in the moment of chaos, but we really do have to try. I am guilty of not taking it in, and my kids remind both my husband and I to put our phones away and join them in witnessing their amazing creations. I am also guilty of not properly being present, especially in the post partum phase, which I feel like I am just now coming out of even 2 years later. It is so hard, and please give yourself grace if you are like me. Do not feel guilty, instead try a simple gratitude exercise!

At our dinner table, we started to play a game called High, Low, Buffalo. Everyone shares a high point of the day, a low point, and a “buffalo” which is something silly or funny. It started as a way to get them away from playing with toys or listening to Alex playing songs nonstop while eating dinner, but now they ask for it at every meal. The best part? Their “highs” are often the tiniest things, like a funny face someone made, getting their favorite dish for breakfast, or how they were talking about diarrhea in bed with each other at 6am before getting up for the day! And in those small, sweet details, I’m reminded that gratitude doesn’t have to be grand.

We share our highs and lows, too, and they listen closely. They love knowing that mama and papa have happy moments, that we make mistakes, that we have our own buffaloes. It’s our way of slowing down, laughing together, and noticing the small moments that make life big. Here we can pause long enough to notice that gratitude lives in the smallest details. It is a simple exercise that now has turned into a routine part of our meals.

Gratitude is necessary in life to appreciate the golden hours of life. Especially since these hours of life are finite. Giving ourselves simple exercises to express our thoughts can turn into beautiful memories. Sometimes we take videos of quiet moments when the kids are in their reading corner to document those moments that one day will be so different. Or if one of the kids says something so sweet in their cute voice, we know we will miss that when we are older, so we ask them to say it again, soaking it in and saving it for the future. I once saw a video of a dad lifting his child for what would be the last time before the child turned 15 years the next day. It started out as a joke, to see if the father could lift his son who is now taller than him. They both were laughing out loud, and suddenly their hug became tighter and it became quiet. Both of them were crying. They both felt that ‘last’ sneaking up on them. It was a powerful reminder that time is finite and every ordinary act we repeat, every ritual we take for granted, is quietly ticking toward its last.

Along the lines of time being finite, I also saw another image that stayed with me showing a baby and a grandmother face to face: the smooth, soft skin of new life against the lined, wise face of a well lived life. The contrast between curiosity and wisdom, innocence and experience, it’s the full circle of love in one frame. I have a picture like that with our youngest, D, with my grandma and another with my husband’s nani. Generations in one moment. A soft hand in a wrinkled one. It’s a memory I treasure, a reminder that life is just a string of small things, beautifully connected. How lucky we were to have those moments. Like when noticing the sun setting, where the blue meets the pink hues in the sky, that transition in life moving from one stage to the next.

That’s what this season of life feels like: the light stretching between what has been and what’s just beginning. The world spinning faster, and yet, the sunsets asking us to slow down. So maybe we should embrace the little things in life. We don’t need to slow life down, but slow ourselves down. Slow down enough to notice the sunset, the silly game, the hand to hold.

Remember that embracing the golden hour isn’t about chasing the light for that perfect photo. Maybe it is about letting it spill over us, to remind us that beauty exists, always, in the in between. To embrace the golden hour is to embrace it all, the highs, the lows, and the buffaloes. It’s to remember that the light doesn’t stay forever, but the love and the noticing is what lasts. It isn’t easy to do on a daily basis, when life is so chaotic. And this is another reminder that you are doing so great. Always remind yourself that! You are doing the best you can in today’s moment. The gesture doesn’t have to be grand, especially when you are trying to survive today to thrive for tomorrow. Make it easy, join us while watching a sunset or at meal times, discuss your “high, low and buffalo” and enjoy soaking in each others’ golden hours, those small, glowing moments that make the day worth remembering.