You’re Gonna Miss This…

You’re Gonna miss This

From the wise words of Trace Adkins song “You’re gonna miss this”,”You’re gonna want this back, you’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by some fast…”. This is a firm yet gentle reminder to hold onto these moments, whether you are in the newborn stage or the teenager stage. Hold fast onto the moments you have with your children now. Because the truth is we are going to want these days back.

I do the bedtime routine with my girls once or twice a week, typically over the weekend and my husband does it on the weekdays. This is a system we put in place to give me a little more rest or alone time on my longest days as I stay at home. Then give my husband some quality time after a long day of being at work and away from our kids.

A short story

I recently found myself, preparing to do the bedtime routine with our kids but trying to find the SHORTEST book possible. Please tell me I’m not alone, have you been there before? I was honestly in a rush to read, sing, pray and say good night! Well my oldest kindly requested I’d read one of the Bernstain Bear stories, which was at least fifteen pages! I told her no, I’m going to read this book “Little Seed”, which is a book we LOVE but is a board book and very short. She looked at me with disappointment, which didn’t seem to phase me at the moment. But at the same time my husband was walking out of the room from kissing the kids goodnight and said to me gently, “You are gonna miss this”.

See the thing is when our first child was born, about a month into parenting we found ourselves swimming in constant cries, and restless nights. To say we were sleep deprived was an understatement. When I noticed the frustration my husband was having, I played him that song by Trace Adkins ” You’re gonna miss this”. So when he said those five words to me, I knew what he meant and I quickly swapped that short book for the longer one she requested.

Revelation

When I did the most simple ask of reading the book she loved, her face lit up. It was then revealed to me once again that this was more for her then it was for me. I was so focused on sticking to the schedule, getting the bedtime routine done and leaving the room. What my child wanted, was for me to take some extra time, and imagine with her as I read this story. Essentially my daughter was asking me to step into her world. How many times do we ask people to meet us where we are? To come down to our level? To not have a time restraint with us. If I’m to be the reflection of the Love of God to my children, then I have all the time in the world, I care about their needs and want to meet them where they are.

If I’m being honest, I don’t know if I’m talking about me and my children anymore or about the way God is towards us. But I do know, the small sacrifice, I made with a few extra minutes left me with a heart full of memories. Feels like just last week I brought my kids home from the hospital but now they are in the independent stage of being a toddler. Put the agenda on hold and just love on them a little longer. Because, you’re gonna miss this, you’re gonna want this back and you are gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast.

Wish you love, patience and happy memories,

xx Classically Faith xx