Lasts

The other day I read an article by a mother.  Like myself, she caught herself rushing through her daily tasks, including some of those sacred moments with the kiddos.  During one bedtime, though, she caught herself (like I sometimes do as well) and realized that the days of tucking her little boy in, cuddling with him, and reading stories together were numbered and that instead of rushing out of there to clean up the house, check Facebook, or whatever, she should cherish the moment not knowing when it would be the "last."
While the crux of the article was something I had thought of before (take more time to enjoy the little moments with our kiddos), it did leave me thinking about something new.  I spend so much time anticipating my childrens' firsts, but I neglect to realize that in accomplishing those firsts and entering a new stage of their lives, they are also having some lasts and forever leaving behind stages that I'm sure I will miss at some point in the future. We've already been through some, and looking back, I don't even know when the last was...I just know it no longer occurs.

Looking at my boys, there are countless daily actions that I oftentimes overlook.

*watching Levi crawl

*hearing Colton say "I love my mama" or "Levi a big mess" or "mama carry me" all in his sweet, broken words and stressed syllables

*holding Levi as he falls asleep on me

*kissing a crying Colton's boo-boo and instantaneously making it better

*listening to Levi's giggle as I blow raspberries on his belly (his favorite game!)

*watching Colton's face light up as he walks out of school, sees me waiting in car line, and comes running with a big "mama"

*entering Levi's room in the morning to see a big smile peering at me from over the crib

*getting a big bear hug and preceding to cuddle in bed with Colton for a few minutes when he wakes up

And so on and so on...So moving forward, I resolve be more aware of those precious moments.  I'm going to look for these things and appreciate them, and while I may not be able to predict the "last" for each one, I will make sure that I soak in each and every moment of theexperiences so that when the moment comes that I realize sadly they are no longer a part of our present, I can at least know that I took advantage of them.