Sunday night I was upstairs in our home turning off the lights because our granddaughters had spent the day with us. I straightened up the rooms a little (very little, ha) and began thinking that these are the same rooms that were my daughter’s rooms when they lived at home.
I was taking a trip down memory lane looking at my oldest daughter’s middle school annual when she was in the 8th grade. I looked at the writings her friends wrote in her annual and all the items still on her bulletin board from high school. Then I started thinking about my youngest daughter’s room across the hallway and all the stuffed animals she used to have and how I would come up each night and pray with them both before they went to sleep. How I would kiss them good night before bed time and hold their hands and tell them I love them.
I was standing upstairs last night wondering how the years have slipped by without my notice. How it still seemed that my two daughters should be in middle school and high school and how I should see them each morning at breakfast. Then I realized that period in my life has passed.
Life is funny that way. Time doesn’t slow down for anyone and before you know it, a period or cycle in your life has changed. There were times when my daughters were little that I thought they would never get past diapers and be able to walk and dress themselves. Then a few years went by and boys started hanging around our house and I knew our life was changing and would never be same. I also knew there was strong possibility I would go to prison when I saw a couple of the boys they were dating. Ha.
I suppose the first lesson of the day is that all periods in life change and the best we can hope for is to accept change with grace as we all move through life. The second lesson would be to enjoy the moments as they happen and be there mentally and emotionally so you can bank the memories. I don’t care how old my children get, I am going to hug them, kiss them and tell them I love them. When the lord calls me home, they will never have to wonder if their daddy loved them. KT