My eight year old LOVES to take a bath! We have a nice sized garden tub, and he will ask to go take a bath just about everyday, especially, when he’s got a new toy! The other day, I walked in there, after he was out, and shot this picture. The whole side of the tub was lined with toys. I’m not talking one or two toys, this is a whole collection of Lego men, Transformer robots, and Hero Factory creations! My first thought was, “Ugh. He didn’t put his toys up!” Then, something stopped me, and as I looked around that tub, I realized in that very moment, “This will all, very soon, be gone.”
Parents of grown children, give me a witness here. The days just fly by too swiftly. One day, you’re holding this tiny little being in your arms, hoping not to break them; then, you turn around, and you’re waving goodbye as they trek out to make their way in the world. Even if you spend as much time as you can, make all the memories possible, grab all the hugs they will allow, the hand of time still keeps ticking. The moments still slip through your fingers like tiny grains of sand.
Oh, what I wouldn’t give, for one more minute, to have those tiny fingers wrap around mine; yet, to go back would mean to give up the adventure of today, watching him create his imaginary Hero Factory armies and see him as he gently cares for the little hermit crabs in their cage and even hearing him say, “Watch this with me, Mom,” as we watch the Superbook series video for the fifty-seventh time this weekend. No, I don’t think I’d like to forsake today only to grasp hold of yesterday, but please, God, help me to not be so worried about the plans of tomorrow that I somehow miss the sweet memories that are right here today. Help me to embrace those moments that can be remembered forever, and let me not miss out on the simple, little things that make those minutes last…I do think I’ll let those little toys line the side of the tub for just a little longer today…yes, maybe I’ll move them on another day.