A few days ago, I was finishing lunch, with Edwin still in his high chair nibbling on puffed cereal and playing with his toy piano. He found a button that played a new song, and as it played, he got very excited. He started dancing in his chair, laughing and smiling at me. He made his famous happy “scrinchy face” several times. Watching him absolutely delighted me, and I thought to myself, “I should record this.” I knew my husband and Edwin’s grandparents would all love seeing him so happy, and I knew I myself would enjoy watching a video of it in the future.

But instead, I just watched, absorbed, and kept that beautiful moment to myself. While it’s nice to store up beautiful moments for the future, and sharing them often adds to the enjoyment, sometimes it’s okay to just keep them to yourself. You don’t always have to share that magical rainbow with Instagram, or text your friend a selfie of your new haircut. We are all so much more easily connected to each other than we were when I was a kid, and most of the time, I think that’s a good thing. I love being able to easily share pictures with old friends, to reconnect with people over new interests, and to keep family members involved in my son’s growth. But beautiful moments, like most things in life, are meant to be experienced fully and then let go. I knew that reaching for my iPhone would take away some of my enjoyment of Edwin’s happy dance, and so I decided to keep the moment- and the joy- to myself.

The next time something beautiful happens to you, stop and think before you hit record or pick up your phone. Do you really want to share this with everyone, or do you want to keep it just for yourself?

Here are a few things I AM sharing with you today:

1. Click over to Words of Wisdom from the Female Yoda, where I contributed a guest post on bravery, cancer and Harry Potter.

2. My short story, “Amish Girl,” was just published by Confrontation literary magazine in their Spring 2014 issue. I got my copy in the mail on Friday, but it’s not available for purchase via the website yet. When it is, I’ll post it here if anyone is interested in buying a copy.

I hope you all have a sunny Memorial Day weekend filled with beautiful moments that you may either share or keep to yourself!