If Time Could Just Stand Still

Every year the swim team meets at a restaurant while the kids get interviewed by the local sports radio show. I’ve spent so many years being caught up in the frustration of raising a teenager. Tonight, I looked at my teen and saw her in a completely different way. It is her junior year and the reality hit me tonight that next year when we sit in that local pub, it will be my last year with her. It will be a year of many lasts. The last year she wil live in the house all 365 days. The last year I will hear the garage door every night at 6:00 when she pulls up the drive. It will be the last time I will sleep soundly knowing she is sleeping peacefully one floor above me. I’ve spent so many years rushing my kids to grow up. Walk on your own, tie your own shoes, type your own paper, find your own ride. All that rushing left me standing with my finger on the fast forward button when all I want to do now is just press pause.

Don’t be in a hurry. Embrace it all. The good, the bad, the crazy, the sad. I cannot even begin to imagine what my life will be like without my kids here with me all the time. I have spent half of my life raising them, watching them grow and worrying incessantly about them both. Time just seemed to disappear and tonight I pause in this moment as I listen to her voice in the other room. I am so blessed and my life is so full. Appreciate what you have. Embrace the moments and cherish every second you have. There is no pause button and no matter how hard you try to make time stand still, it never will.

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