In the life of raising children, it is easy to parse out time in milestones: first tooth, last time nursing, first steps, last day in diapers. We’ve learned to appreciate the “big” milestones, but what about the day to day?
Earlier in the summer we visited a park in our town for the first time and hiked though the meadow at sunset.
As I was looking through the photos later on, it struck me that our first time there was also the last time it would ever be just like that. That’s not to say we won’t go back, as I’m sure we will, but next time it will be different: everyone will be a couple months older, the baby might be walking, the weather will have changed a little.
The first time going was the last time we could see it for the first time. Every day is the same way, as it is the first and last time today will ever exist. It is true for all of us, but especially apparent in our rapidly growing children. It is a call to cherish, not to lament. As Mother Teresa says, “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
Noel Miller is a stay-at-home mother, writer and photographer. She was born and raised in Chicagoland where she lives with her husband and their three little ones (ages baby to five). She writes about faith, family, and home at www.theologyofpie.com.
