02/02/2026
Enjoy them while they are little.
Yes, even on the hard days.
Even when you’re exhausted.
Even when your patience is thin.
Even when you’re counting the minutes until bedtime.
Because these loud, messy, ordinary days?
They’re the ones your heart will reach for later.
Right now, they need you for everything.
Your arms. Your voice. Your presence.
They run to you when they’re scared, tired, or hurt,
fully convinced your arms can fix anything.
You are their comfort.
Their home.
Their safest place in the world.
But they won’t always need you like this.
One day, they won’t reach for your hand crossing the street.
One day, they won’t climb into your lap.
One day, they won’t ask you to stay until they fall asleep.
And it won’t happen all at once.
It happens quietly,
in moments you don’t think to mark.
One night, you’ll put them down and not realize it was the last time they asked for a cuddle.
One morning, they’ll walk ahead instead of beside you.
One long hug will slowly become the last long one.
Their world will grow bigger.
And you’ll become one part of it, not the center.
They’ll still love you.
Just differently.
And that’s when your heart will ache in ways you never expected.
You’ll wish you could go back,
not to a perfect day,
but to an ordinary one.
Spilled milk. Toys on the floor.
Tiny arms wrapped tight around your neck.
So slow down.
Hold them a little longer.
Hug them a little tighter.
Even when you’re tired.
Even when the days feel heavy.
Love them loudly.
Hold them often.
Let the moments linger.
Because childhood isn’t a long journey.
It’s short.
And beautiful.
And before you’re ready, they’ll be grown,
carrying your love into a world that no longer needs you the same way.
