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June 16, 2026

The Little Moments We Didnt Know We'd Remember

The Little Moments We Didnt Know We'd Remember
The Little Moments We Didnt Know We'd Remember
We are the Hanson's / Family Life, Practical Tips & Self-Care
The Little Moments We Didnt Know We'd Remember

This week on We Are the Hansons, Myia shares a heartfelt look at a weekend that didn't seem extraordinary at first—Maddie's rummage sale adventure with Gavin and Riley, a family fishing trip that brought in bluegill, sunfish, striper bass, and catfish, graduation pictures for nephew Jonny at the Japanese Garden, and a relaxing Sunday night of taco bowls and UFC fights with family and friends. It's a reminder that the moments that shape our lives are often the quiet, simple ones spent together.

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You know what I've learned. The older I get, the

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more I realize that life isn't really made up of

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the giant moments. It's not just the weddings, it's not

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just the birthdays, it's not just the vacations, and it's

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not even the graduations. Those moments matter, of course they do,

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But I think our lives are actually built inside ordinary weekends.

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The weekends that don't look like much on the calendar,

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the weekends that don't cost much money, the weekends that

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nobody else would think were particularly special. Because somehow those

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weekends become the ones we remember forever. It's fishing with

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your family. It's watching fights on television. It's making dinner together.

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It's standing in a garden taking pictures. It's laughing over

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something that probably wasn't even that funny. It's sitting around

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talking about absolutely nothing. These are the moments that stay

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with us. I think we spend so much of our

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lives waiting for the next big thing that we accidentally

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overlook the life we're already living. We're waiting for vacation,

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we're waiting for things to slow down. We're waiting for

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the promotion. We're waiting for retirement. We're waiting for some day. Meanwhile,

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our lives are happening right now. They're happening in ordinary moments.

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They're happening around dinner tables. They're happening besides lakes. They're

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happening in car rides. They're happening while somebody catches a fish.

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They're happening while your daughter spends the weekend with people

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she cares about. They're happening while you're taking graduation pictures.

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And the funny thing is you don't realize those moments

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matter while you're living them. You're just doing life. You're

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just making tacos, just hanging out, You're just taking some pictures.

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And then one day you look back and realize, those

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are the moments, those were the memories, those were the

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days that filled your heart. This weekend reminded me of that.

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Nothing huge happened, no giant trip, no expensive event, no

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big announcement, but somehow, by Sunday night, my heart felt

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completely full, and I thought, these are the weekends that matter,

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These are the weekends we'll remember. Hey, everybody, welcome back

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to we are the hans Ends. I'm Maya, and if

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you're new here, welcome, to our little corner of the world.

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This is where we talk about family, marriage, parenting, life

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and all of those little moments in between that somehow

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end up becoming the stories we tell for years, because honestly,

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family life isn't built on giant moments. It's built on

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little one It's built on conversations. It's built on traditions.

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It's built on ordinary weekends that somehow become unforgettable. And

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this past weekend was exactly that. Nothing huge happened, but

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somehow everything felt special. It all started with Maddie. Maddie

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spent the weekend with our son Gavin and his girlfriend Riley,

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and they went rummage sailing. Now, let me tell you something.

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I never thought there would come a day when rummage

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sales sounded like fun. When I was younger, I hated

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garage sales. I remember my parents pulling over because they

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saw a sign, and I'd be in the backseat thinking, seriously,

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why are we stopping. I wanted to get where we

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were going. I wanted to do something exciting. I couldn't

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imagine spending an entire saturday looking through somebody else's stuff.

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Then one day you become an adult, you see a

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handwritten sign that says multifamily garage sale, and suddenly your

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curiosity kicks in. How many families? What kind of stuff

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should we stop? Could there be something amazing there? I

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don't know exactly when that switch happens, but one day

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it absolutely does, and honestly, I kind of love it,

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because rummage sales are a lot like life. You never

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know what you're going to find. You might find something valuable,

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you might find something funny, you might find absolutely nothing.

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But the aventure is looking. I imagine the three of

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them driving around together, playing music, talking, laughing, stopping at

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one more sale, then one more, then another, because somehow

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that's always how it goes. You tell yourself you'll stop

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at one, then you see an another sign, and another

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and another, and suddenly you've spent half the day doing

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something completely random, And somehow it's wonderful because the truth is,

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they probably won't remember every item they looked at. They

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probably won't remember every single thing they bought, but they'll

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remember being together. They'll remember conversations, they'll remember laughing, they'll

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remember how the day felt. As I have gotten older,

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that's become more important to me. Experiences don't have to

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be expensive. Memories don't have to be extravagant. Sometimes it's

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simply spending time with people you enjoy. And watching your

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children grow up and create memories of their own is

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one of the strangest feelings in the world because it's beautiful,

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but it is also bittersweet. I still remember Mattie being little.

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I remember little shoes by the door, or I remember

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bedtime stories. I remember school mornings, I remember helping with homework.

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I remember little hands reaching up to hold mind. I

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remember all of those things. And now she's grown. She's

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creating her own memories, she's building her own traditions, she's

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making plans with people she loves. And that's exactly what

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we want as parents. We want our kids to become independent,

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we want them to have experiences, we want them to

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build relationships. But nobody prepares your heart for how quickly

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it happens. Nobody tells you that one day you'll look

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at your grown children and still somehow see every version

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of them all at once. Parents understand this. You see

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the adult, but somehow you also see the toddler, the

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little kid, the teenager. You see every version of them

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at the same time, and time is funny because it

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never asks permission. It just keeps moving. One minute you're

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packing lunches, one minute you're helping them tie their shoes.

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The next minute they're driving. One minute you're reading bedtime stories,

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the next minute they're adults. And honestly, I don't know

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where all that time goes. I really don't. I think

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that's why ordinary weekends matter so much, because they're happening

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while time is quietly slipping by. They're becoming memories while

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we don't even realize it. Saturday rolled around and Jeremy Torren,

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Anlyn Colin and I all decided to go fishing. Now,

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let me tell you something. I think fishing is one

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of the greatest things families can do together. Not because

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of the fish. The fish are just a bonus. I

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think fishing is wonderful because it forces people to slow down.

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The goodness knows we need more of that. Everything moves

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so fast. Everybody is busy, everybody has somewhere to be,

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everybody has something to do, everybody has another notification on

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their phone. Fishing doesn't care about any of that. Fishing

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says fit. Fishing says wait, fishing says be patient. Fishing

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says look around. I honestly think we need more things

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that slow us down. I don't think human beings were

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designed to move at the speed we're moving. We're always rushing,

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always multitasking, always worried about what's next. Fishing says, there

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doesn't need to be a next thing. Right now, this

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moment is enough. Kids understand this naturally. They can sit

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by water for hours. They can throw rocks, they can

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look for turtles, they can watch birds, they can search

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for frogs. They know how to be present. As adults,

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we lose that somewhere. We're always trying to be productive.

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Fishing reminds us that simply being together is productive too.

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I imagine them arriving at the water. Maybe the morning

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air was cool, Maybe there was that early stillness, the

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kind where the water looks like glass. I love mornings

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like that. There's something peaceful about standing beside water. Nobody's rushing,

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nobody's asking for anything, It's just people and nature. I

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think we need that. I think we need moments where

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we're reminded how big the world is. Because life gets small.

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Sometimes our problems feel enormous, our stress feels overwhelming. Then

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you stand beside a lake, you hear birds, you feel

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a breeze, you watch sunlight dance across the wa water,

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and suddenly things don't seem quite so heavy. I think

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nature has a way of putting everything into perspective. And

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then there's the anticipation. Anybody who fishes knows exactly what

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I'm talking about. You throw your line out there, and

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you wait, even little moments get your attention. Was that

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a fish? Was that weeds? Should I reel it in?

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Should I leave it? Fishing is funny because you're constantly hopeful.

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Every cast feels like possibility. Maybe this is the one.

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Maybe this cast catches the big fish. Maybe this cast

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becomes the story everybody tells. And apparently this trip turned

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out pretty good because they caught fish quite a few fish, bluegill, sunfish, striper, bass,

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and two catfish. Now, if you've ever been fishing, you

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know every fish becomes an event. Somebody catches one, everybody

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gets excited, everybody gathers around, somebody wants a picture, somebody's

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giving advice, somebody's celebrating. I absolutely love that. Because adults

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need reasons to feel childlike excitement, life can become so serious. Bills, responsibilities, stress, schedules.

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Sometimes we forget how to be amazed by little things.

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Kids don't forget. They get excited over everything. A butterfly,

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a turtle, a cloud, a fish. Everything feels important, everything

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feels like an adventure. Fishing gives adults permission to feel

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that again, And honestly, I think that's beautiful because years

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from now, nobody's going to remember exactly what time they

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got there. Nobody's going to remember what they wore, nobody's

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going to remember every little detail, but they'll remember being together,

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they'll remember laughing, they'll remember catching those two catfish. One

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day somebody will say, remember those catfish, and everybody will smile.

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Because that's how family memories work. They sneak up on you,

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They build themselves quietly, They become stories without asking permission.

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Those are usually the best stories of all. Then Sunday came,

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and Sunday felt different. Sunday was one of those days

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where you know you're witnessing something special, even if you

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can't completely explain why. We went to take graduation pictures

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for our nephew Johnny at the Japanese Garden, And honestly,

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it couldn't have been a more perfect place if you've

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ever been to the Japanese Garden in Springfield, you know

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what I mean. The minute you walk in, something changes.

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Everything slows down. The pathways curved gently, the trees seem intentional,

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the flowers are beautiful. There are little bridges, hands, quiet

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places to sit. Everything feels peaceful. It almost feels like

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time moves differently there. And maybe that's why it was

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such a fitting place for graduation pictures, because graduations themselves

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are strange. They're celebrations, but they're also reminders, reminders that

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time never stops moving. I remember Johnny being little, I

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remember family get togethers, I remember holidays, I remember seeing

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him run around, I remember hearing him laugh. I remember

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him just being a kid. And then there we were

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standing in the Japanese Garden taking college graduation pictures. College,

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How does that happen? Seriously? How? Because it honestly feels impossible.

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One minute, everybody is little, the next minute everybody's grown.

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The next minute they're graduating, the next minute their starting careers,

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the next minute they're adults. And somehow all of it

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happens in what feels like a blink. I think that's

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one of the hardest things about getting older, you become

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aware of time. When you're young, time feels endless. A

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year feels like forever, Summer vacation feels like it lasts

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an entire lifetime. You can't wait to be older, you

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can't wait to drive, you can't wait to graduate, you

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can't wait for adulthood. And then adulthood gets here, and

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suddenly time starts moving differently. A week flies by, a

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month disappears. You blink, and somehow it's Christmas again. You blink,

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and another year has passed. You blink, and kids become adults.

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It's a little unbelievable there. Watching Johnny take graduation pictures

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made me emotional because graduation pictures aren't really about the

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cap and gown. They're about possibility. They're about hope. They're

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about standing at the edge of one chapter while another

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chapter is just beginning. You're looking at someone whose future

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is completely open. What adventures are waiting, What opportunities, what friendships,

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what experiences? Nobody knows? And maybe that's what makes graduation beautiful.

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It's possibility, it's potential, it's promise. I found myself looking

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around at the trees and flowers and thinking about growth,

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because gardens don't happen overnight. Trees don't happen overnight. Flowers

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don't bloom overnight. Neither do people. Becoming who you are

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takes time. Learning takes time, growing takes time, Education takes time.

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Maturity takes time. You don't wake up one day and

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magically have a college degree. There's an entire story behind

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that moment. There are late nights, there are difficult assignments.

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There are moments of stress, moments of doubt, moments where

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you wonder if you're ever going to make it to

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the finish line. And then one day you're standing in

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a beautiful Japanese garden taking graduation pictures. I don't know.

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I just think moments like that deserve to be celebrated.

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I think accomplishments deserve to be acknowledged. I think we

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move too quickly from one thing to another. We finish

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something and immediately move on to the next thing. Maybe

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we should pause more often, Maybe we should celebrate more.

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Maybe we should take more pictures. Maybe we should stop

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and appreciate how far people have come. Because life moves fast,

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really fast, and moments deserve our attention. Sure's freeze time

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for just a second. That's why I love pictures. Years

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from now, Johnny will look at those photographs, he'll remember

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exactly how he felt, the excitement, the pride, the relief,

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the uncertainty, the hope. Pictures let us revisit moments we

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can never live again. And I think that's beautiful because

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one day these pictures won't simply be graduation pictures. They'll

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be memories, they'll be stories. They'll become little windows back

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into the season of life. That's priceless. After pictures, we

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came home and by then it felt like the perfect sunday.

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Everybody was comfortable, everybody was relaxed, nobody was in a hurry,

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and Jeremy and I made taco bulls. Now. Let me

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tell you something. I love taco bulls because taco bulls

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aren't complicated ground beef, taco seasoning. Let us tomato, cheese,

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sour cream, salsa, tortilla chips. Everything's spread out on the counter,

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everybody making their own bowl, and somehow everybody thinks there's

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taste the best. But honestly, I don't think taco balls

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are really about the food. I think they're about what

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happens around the food. Everybody gathers, people talk, people laugh,

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somebody's reaching for chips, somebody's asking where the cheese is,

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somebody's stealing extra meat, nobody's in a hurry. For a

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few minutes, everybody is simply together. I think family dinners matter,

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I really do. I think gathering around food matters. I

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think conversations and kitchens matter. I think those little moments

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shape families because some of my favorite memories involve food,

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not because the food was extraordinary, but because of who

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was there, because of the conversations, because of the laughter,

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because of the feeling. I think that's what people really remember,

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the feeling. And after dinner, we settled in for the

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UFC fights. Collin was here, Keenum was here, Tristan was here,

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everybody hanging out, everybody talking, everybody laughing, everybody having opinions,

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everybody predicting who was going to win. I love nights

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like that because it isn't really about the fights. It's

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about togetherness. It's about everybody being in one place. Because

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life gets busy, really busy. Everybody has responsibilities, everybody has schedules,

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everybody has things they need to do. As you get older,

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getting everybody together becomes harder. People move, people, work, people

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get married, people have kids, Schedules fill up, and suddenly

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getting everybody in the same room feels like an event,

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which is why nights like this feel special. Nobody was

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trying too hard, nobody was chasing something bigger. We were

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simply living life, and somehow it was enough. Actually it

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was more than enough. Later that night, after the tackle

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bowls and after the fights, and after everybody had settled down,

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I found myself thinking about the entire weekend. I thought

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about Maddie. I thought about Gavin and Riley. I thought

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about them driving around looking at garage sales. I thought

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about Jeremy and the kids fishing. I thought about bluegill, sunfish,

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striper bass, those two catfish. I thought about standing in

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the Japanese garden. I thought about Johnny graduating college. I

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thought about everybody laughing around the television. I felt grateful,

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not because everything was perfect, not because something extraordinary happened.

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I felt grateful because we were together. I think togetherness

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is one of the greatest gifts in life, because someday

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these moments become stories. Someday we'll say things like, remember

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when Maddie went rummage styling with Gavin and Riley. Remember

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those catfish. Remember Johnny's graduation pictures at the Japanese Garden,

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Remember taco bowls in UFC fight night. Those become family stories,

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Those become memories, Those become pieces of our history. And

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the older I get, the more I realize something. The

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good old days aren't behind us. They're happening right now

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or living them. These ordinary weekends, these random dinners, these

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simple moments, These are the days we'll miss someday. These

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are the stories we'll tell. These are the moments that

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shape families. I think that's the lesson this weekend gave me.

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Pay attention, Slow down, laugh more, take the pictures, stay

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a little longer, go fishing, stop at the garage sale,

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make the tackle bulls, watch the fights, celebrate the graduations.

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Sit together, be present, because one day you'll realize that

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the things you thought were ordinary were actually extraordinary all along.

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And trust me, they're worth noticing while you're living them.

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Thank you so much for spending a little bit of

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your day with me. On We are the Hansens. From

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all of us here at we are the Hansens. We

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hope your week is full of simple moments, unexpected laughter,

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and plenty of reasons to gather around the people you love,

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because at the end of the day, those are the

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things that matter. Those are the things we carry with us.

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Those are the moments that become the stories will tell forever.

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We'll see you next time.