On an old road out of town, just over the bridge that crosses the big east river, looms a large hill. The hill is probably not of any significance to most people. That’s because they don’t know why I call it Buck Mountain.

The rocky crag of a hill was so named because of an event dad and I witnessed while driving home from the cottage on Vernon Lake. Imagine, a beautiful muskoka sunset behind the peak of the hill as we started our ascent up Buck Mountain. Halfway up the incline, a huge, monster buck stepped out of the hardwoods and onto a rocky ‘outcropping’ of the hill. It towered above us on its rocky throne and watched from the side of the road as we continued to drive by it. I think it had 6 to 8 points on each side of its rack. Dad and I were amazed by it’s size and proximity to our moving vehicle.

Time slowed as we drove by the buck. The gears of anticipation began to turn in our heads as we thought of the upcoming hunt and the slim chance that this buck might actually venture over to our hunting realm several kilometers away. I imagined the discussions around the camp stove and the laughs they would have in store for us. I tried to picture what my reaction would be if I actually came across this buck on my deer stand.

It is amazing what can go through your mind in the fraction of a second.

When the deer disappeared from view, our minds returned to reality and to the very important task of driving. To this day, I always slow down when venturing over Buck Mountain.

Why am I telling you this story?

The other day, my wife pointed out that our 11 week year old daughter is almost starting to turn over onto her stomach. Apparently, this is one of those developmental milestones parents are to watch for. I did not understand the full extent of what that actually meant - until I saw it for myself.

Then, just like that time at Buck Mountain, time slowed. I remembered changing her first diaper, changing my shirt after experiencing baby burping without a ‘receiving’ blanket and trying to put on those ridiculously buttoned ‘onesies’. I thought about the next 11 weeks, 1 year and 10 years and all the memories that lie ahead. It seems to be passing by so quickly.

It really is amazing what you can think about during a second or two in real time.

As my daughter rolled back over on to her back after unsuccessfully trying roll on to her stomach, most people in the room did not realize the significance of this event.

Except me.