Oh, How the Years Go By

Oh, how the years go by.
Oh, how the love brings tears to my eyes...

Those are a few lines from an old song by Amy Grant. I've been thinking about them today because my baby boy turned six years old today. I know it sounds so cliche, but it really does seem like yesterday that he was born. I can still recall so vividly the moment of his birth when I first saw his adorable doll-baby face, and my husband said, "I think he might be a looker!" I think there's something unique about the birth of your firstborn - that special moment when you're instantly transformed into a parent, with your heart suddenly living outside your body. You know right then that your priorities and desires will never be the same.

Well, I'm feeling all sentimental today because, for the first time, my baby boy is closer to his 10th birthday than he is to his infancy. It's a solemn reminder that time with my children is short and so precious. I don't want to look back with regret, feeling that I spent too much time on the mundane tasks of life and missed the special moments that make our lives memorable. I don't want to look back and feel that I spoke too harshly, hugged too infrequently, and said "no" too often when I really could have (and should have) said "yes".