I've been lucky, very lucky. But I've lost a year of trips and excursions to our favorite places with a growing child, one year I will never get back. One year of hoisting her onto a carousel, one year of sitting next to her on Peter Pan while she still thinks it's cool to hang out with her dad. One year of her sitting on my shoulders watching some sort of parade go by. One year of riding Haunted Mansion w/ the holiday overlay over and over and over again.
Time is a gift; unfortunately, you can't bottle it up and save it for later.