One day, it'll be the last time

Yesterday while I was feeding my son, my husband looks over at me and says, "Aw. He's holding your finger." I looked down and saw that he was, but oddly enough, I hadn't noticed. He does it during every feeding, so it's something that I've gotten used to. But it got me thinking. I don't want to miss out on that stuff, even for a second because one day, that sweet little baby is going to grow up. And those special little moments will fade away.

Now that I'm a parent, I know what adults mean when they say that time goes by too fast. When you're a kid, a year seems like an eternity. But now that I'm grown, I blink and a year has gone by. I still can't believe that this time last year, I had just found out that I was pregnant. It's mind-boggling to me that my son is nearly four months old now and is about to experience his first Christmas. And thinking about it makes me go down memory lane and think about all of my experiences growing up.

One day, my dad held me up on his shoulders for the last time. He didn't know that after that time, I'd be too heavy for him to do it anymore. One day, I stopped wearing my mom's heels around the house. She had no idea that it was the last time she'd find her shoes scattered across her closet. One day, my parents watched me play outside for the last time. They had no idea that after that, they wouldn't hear the sound of my laughter coming from the jungle gym anymore.

And as heartbreaking as it will be, those days will come for me and my son, too. But it's a part of growing up. Every day that passes by goes too quickly nowadays but I have to remind myself that I'm lucky to get a chance to live another day. Every new day is a chance for my son to learn a new skill. It's a chance for new memories. It's a chance to show the people that I love that I love them.

One day, my son will stop holding my finger while he eats. One day, my son will stop hating bath time. One day, my son won't fit in his little monkey pajamas. One day, I'll read my son his last bedtime story. One day, his face won't light up anymore when he sees Elmo. I only have so many of these moments left, just like my parents did with me. So, I'm making a promise to stay more present during these moments and someday, when these moments become memories, I'll remind myself about something very important: "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss

-Chelsea