One of my favorite children's books is Let Me Hold Them Longer by Karen Kingsbury. An excerpt:
Long ago you came to me, a miracle of firsts. First Smiles and teeth and baby steps, a sunbeam on the burst. But one day you will move away and leave me to your past, and I will be left thinking of a lifetime of your lasts...
It travels through the last bottle, the last time wanting to be rocked, the final midday nap with the question posed "Would I have held on longer if I'd known it was your last?"
We always celebrate the first, but the last almost inevitably slips by unnoticed.
Because I cherish this book, the last few days of preschool I struggled thinking about these lasts. Sitting on the floor in the preschool room viewing the slide show, I observed the year passing in a blink. Photos of the class dressed in panda masks as they exited at the end of the day, Kayden playing on the bright alphabet rug at the beginning of the year looking so timid, sitting in a circle singing a greeting to their friends.
Preschool is over. My only solace is that he has another year ahead of him, and I am thankful for that. Although he might be ready, I most certainly am not!
I am grateful I still reside in the beginning seasons. Dating, football games, driving-it all currently seems very distant.
The book ends with:
For come some bright fall morning, you'll be going far away. College Life will beckon in a brilliant sort of way. One last hug, one last goodbye. One quick and hurried kiss. One last time to understand just how much you will be missed. I will watch you leave and think how fast our time together passed.
Help me hold on longer God to each sweet precious last.
