Wednesday 10 February 2016

The Last Time {post it notes to self}

Every. single. moment. is. infinitely. precious.
Just had one crazy week of kids up all through the night with one of these horrid viruses going around and vast swathes of laundry piled high in my room and dishes to do and late night out of hours doctor visits and then I read this poem.
It really does go by that fast.


The Last Time

From the moment you hold your baby in your arms,
you will never be the same.
You might long for the person you were before,
When you have freedom and time,
And nothing in particular to worry about.


You will know tiredness like you never knew it before,
And days will run into days that are exactly the same,
Full of feedings and burping,
Nappy changes and crying,
Whining and fighting,
Naps or a lack of naps,
It might seem like a never-ending cycle.

But don’t forget …
There is a last time for everything.
There will come a time when you will feed
your baby for the very last time.
They will fall asleep on you after a long day
And it will be the last time you ever hold your sleeping child.

One day you will carry them on your hip then set them down,
And never pick them up that way again.
You will scrub their hair in the bath one night
And from that day on they will want to bathe alone.
They will hold your hand to cross the road,
Then never reach for it again.
They will creep into your room at midnight for cuddles,
And it will be the last night you ever wake to this.

One afternoon you will sing “the wheels on the bus”
and do all the actions,
Then never sing them that song again.
They will kiss you goodbye at the school gate,
The next day they will ask to walk to the gate alone.
You will read a final bedtime story and wipe your last dirty face.
They will run to you with arms raised for the very last time.

The thing is, you won’t even know it’s the last time
Until there are no more times.
And even then, it will take you a while to realize.

So while you are living in these times,
remember there are only so many of them

and when they are gone, you will yearn for just one more day of them.
For one last time.

-Author Unknown-



 



Nola's "forest sandwiches"




13 comments:

  1. Oh wow, thanks for sharing this. A few tears as I read it. Hope everyone is on the mend, and that you all enjoy a peaceful finish to your week.

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  2. Oh such very wise words indeed. And yet I'm always glad I didn't know it was the last time, it means I can let go more easily:)

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  3. I am in just this place right now. Your words went straight to my heart.

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  4. so calm and beautiful...

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  5. <3 (hope everyone is feeling better now)

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  6. <3 (hope everyone is feeling better now)

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  7. I do hope you are all feeling better now. Those are beautiful words. So true, so poignant.

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  8. So dear to our hears forever. Hope things are going good now at your house.

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  9. Thank you for sharing this. Heading into homeschooling this year has brought a number of challenges for us, and I've been struggling a bit under it all. I so needed this. Thank you for the reminder :)

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  10. Yes, yes, yes. I often say I would go back to those days for a sweet vacation. I wouldn't trade those days for anything...but I wouldn't want to go back there again either. I love the women my daughters have become and though I loved them as children I would miss who they are now terribly. Also, I am not the same person I was and I would miss who I am now as well.

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  11. Lovely post! It's so tenderly evocative of true love! Happy Valentine's Day!

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  12. I love that poem. Thank you for sharing it. :)

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