Savoring the moments (and a Notre Dame graduation) 🎓

Maggie's Musings

Jul 4

NOTRE DAME

2026

Last week I watched Zoë walk across a stage at the University of Notre Dame to receive her degree. There is something about a graduation: the cap, the gown, the sea of proud faces, that compresses time in a way not much else does. I could see, all at once, the baby I dropped off at daycare for the first time, tears streaming down my face, and the young woman who is now her own person, making her own decisions. It is one of those moments that makes you think: how did we get here so fast?

THREE GENERATIONS, ONE MOMENT

What made it even more special was that her grandmother was there to see it. At 91 years old, she made the trip. Three generations, one day, one moment none of us will forget.

And then my thoughts drifted somewhere bittersweet. I only have one child. Sitting there, I found myself realizing that I may not be here for future graduations in our family, so saviour every moment.

A FRONT ROW SEAT TO LIFE'S MILESTONES

In my work, I have the rare privilege of walking alongside people through the full arc of their lives. Young couples buying their first home together. A few years later, helping them find something bigger when the family grows. I watch clients downsize when the kids have left, or they've grown apart. And sometimes, I am there at the very end of the road, helping a family settle an estate, close a final chapter.

I still have birthdays on my calendar for clients who have passed. Wedding anniversaries for couples who divorced. Closing anniversaries for people who are no longer here. When those dates come around, I think about them. They trusted me with one of the biggest decisions of their lives, and that means a lot.

What this work has given me, more than anything else, is a front-row seat to the full range of what it means to be human: the biggest joys, the first home, the growing family, the fresh start, and the deepest sorrows.

Zoë's graduation reminded me, in the best possible way, that life is not just a series of transactions or transitions. It is a collection of moments, some planned, many unexpected, all of them worth showing up for.

Cheers, Maggie

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