Just a Moment in Time

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV

This week we celebrated two firsts with Georgia - she began crawling and she cut her first tooth.  We clapped and cheered her on as she made her way across the living room floor.  Her eyes lit up with amazement at all we were doing as if to say "Wow! All this attention just for making my way over to my favorite toy!".  Her first tooth finally came after two sleepless nights of misery for her and Mommy and Daddy - poor baby!

Like any typical mother would do, I noted the date and wrote it down for her baby book.  Ask most mothers and they will remember how old their child was when they slept through the night, started baby food or took three steps in the hallway.  There is something momentous in seeing a baby do things for the first time.

Outside of raising children, there are so many other important "firsts" in our lives.  I will never forget the first time I met Michael, where we went on our first date or the details of our first kiss.  I remember driving my first car, riding my first roller coaster, and the first time I saw my name in print under something I wrote.  Firsts are beginnings, full of excitement and anticipation and the unknown.  We don't know how it's going to turn out but generally we know that the first time is just the first of many times.

In the midst of all the "firsts" in our lives, particularly in raising children, are the "lasts".  Sometimes the last time we will ever do something is just as precious as the first time we did it, but we are so busy or in such a routine that we miss the importance of the moment.  Many times we aren't even aware it's the last time.

I don't remember when Ross called me Mommy for the last time and began to only call me Mom.  I don't remember the last night I tucked Gracie into bed and she needed my kiss and our prayers before she could sleep.  Amber is learning to dress herself now and one day soon I will help her put on a shirt for the last time.  Last month I nursed Georgia for the last time.  I was very aware of what a precious thing this had been between us and I took time to cherish our last time together in such a wonderful way.  I vividly remember the last time I saw my dad before he deployed to Guantanamo Bay in November.  I play it over and over again in my mind on days like today when I miss him dearly.  And I'm eagerly waiting for the first time I see him when he comes home again in late May. 

Life is made up of many moments - some are big, some are routine, others are firsts and lasts.  I'm striving to live in the moment, to recognize the lasts as well as the firsts, and to celebrate them all.