Today is my older daughter’s 20th birthday.
When I was growing up, I can remember men saying things to me like, “I don’t even remember when my child began to walk. It is my life’s greatest regret. Make sure you are there for your kids.”
And so, for the most part I think, I have been. I’ve been an intentional parent who has made the conscious decision to be present in the moment with my children. I’ve slowed down, and sometimes just plain stopped, and cherished our time together. Not always, of course, but I feel like I’ve generally done a pretty good job of it.
But even so, it has gone by in the blink of an eye. It still feels like somehow it has somehow slipped through my hands, that their childhood has gone by so fast that I’m not even sure where it has gone.
That’s just parenting, I think. We love our kids so much.
We love them so much, in fact, that although we long to freeze time and hold on to them, we choose instead to take joy in watching them grow and step out on their own, even if it all happens way, way too fast.
Happy birthday, Christine!
Posted by: Kris | April 21, 2009 at 10:36 PM