Last Moments

Have you ever stopped to celebrate a last moment in your child's life? One of my favorite authors, Karen Kingsbury, believes that if we realized that some of the moments in our children lives were going to be their last then we would probably celebrate them more. For instance, if we knew it was going to be the last time our child would hug or kiss us in public, wouldn't we hug or kiss them a little longer? Karen explains the importance of celebrating not only 'firsts" but also "lasts" in her book, Let Me Hold You Longer.

I have to admit, at first thought, the idea of celebrating a last moment doesn't sit very well. However, I am beginning to understand Karen's point of view. Last week we attended our daughter's "first" graduation ceremony. She was graduating from preschool and we couldn't be more proud. She looked stunning and performed quite well during their singing of patriotic songs and recital of bible verses. We were in awe of her. My husband even got a little emotional.


We celebrated this milestone and didn't give any thought of the fact that it also meant that this would be the end of preschool. She will be heading off to kindergarten in the fall and she will no longer be a preschooler. That thought hit me today like a ton of bricks. Today was officially her last day of preschool. Although they had graduation ceremonies last Friday, they had to attend school this week. They had a good-bye party today and there was not a dry eye in the house. We cried not only because we would miss the teachers (they are 2 lovely teachers) but also because we had reached a "last" moment.

Many of us mothers knew that saying goodbye to preschool also meant that we were saying goodbye to our "little" children as well. Before long they'll be teenagers, then off to college and next off to marry and start a family of their own. This is so hard to digest! The children couldn't understand why everyone was crying and kept saying "I'll miss you." All they could think about was that they were having a "cool" party and all the "treats" they were getting. It's amazing how our children don't understand the significance of "last" moments. Then again, most adults don't take the time out either to acknowledge and celebrate the "lasts." Maybe it's time we started!