I just needed a short break. Nothing was particularly wrong—I just needed a little time away, so I decided to take a quick walk. Then, son Brock asks to come with me. I try to dissuade him. “Honey, it’s hot, you’ll get tired, and I don’t want to have to carry you.”

“No you won’t mom. Please let me come!”

Resentfully, I say OK. Sure enough, five minutes into the walk,
“Mom, I’m hot—will you carry me?”

“Brock—NO! I told you this would happen,” I barked, rather more forcefully than I intended. Silence.

Then a small voice says, “Mommy?”

“Yes, Brock.”

“I love you. I just wanted to be with you because I love you.”

Would someone just turn the knife now sticking out of my heart and put me out of my misery?

As I scoop Brock up I realize how much he is like his older brother. Ben used to walk with me but is now too busy to ask for walks with mom and too big for me to ever pick up and carry again. I realize how quickly that passed and hold Brock a little tighter. I treasure a moment of just loving and being loved by my little boy.

The trouble with parenting is that the days can be so long—but the years so very short. As moms we are so busy just trying to keep up with the details of caring for our children we can lose sight of just how precious each moment is. And, before we know it—they’re over.

The only cure is to treasure today. Sure, it may be full of tantrums or snotty noses or even interrupted walks, but we will never have today with our children again. And, though today seems long, the years whiz by.

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