The First and the Last

I sit here with an amazing life. I have five fabulous children. They are simply amazing. I wonder at God's reasoning for lending them to me and allowing me the honor of raising them. Why? I'm so totally unworthy. But I try. I try to do that which I feel is God's heart for my children. I pray for God to help me see them as He sees them. I watch them grow and my heart aches for their babyhood while rejoicing in their new adventures.

Recently, in a conversation with a sweet friend who is further along this parenting journey than I, I was reminded of a bitter-sweet moment. I remembered holding my youngest baby and nursing her for what I new would be the last time. I desperately wanted to hold on to that moment, yet knew that I couldn't. There always has to be a last, I was fortunate enough this time to know it. Often we don't.

This friend reminded me that we try so hard to remember the firsts in our child's life: Their first moments in this world, their first word, first step, first day of school, first dance, first date. It is rare that we are aware of their last anything. Do we remember the last time they said "get-for" instead of "forget" or the last time they drank out of sippy cup. Do we even remember the last jar of baby food? We get so busy looking ahead and focused on the next thing coming, that we sometimes forget to notice that the new ushers out the old.

I urge you parents, try to take time and slow down and cherish those little things, for you never know when it will the last time your baby says "I wub oo" instead of "I love you."