“It will be gone before you know it. The fingerprints on the wall appear higher and higher. Then suddenly they disappear”. -Dorothy Evsli

This morning, as I was having my breakfast in front of the computer reading emails, my son approached me and with a pleading voice he said, “Mom, can we play, please!?” I was about to tell him, “Later, mommy is busy.” But then, a voice inside of me was shouting, “Go ahead Len, play with him. Your son will not forever be 3 years old. He’ll grow up and soon you’ll realize he’s no longer at your side.”
Time is precious. Sometimes, when I look at my son, I couldn’t help but shed a tear. It breaks my heart seeing him grow so fast and now doing the things that I used to do for him. But then I’m happy. I’m happy because I’m able to stay right here beside him, doing the little things that he’s asking me to, being with him anytime he needs me, sharing every single moment in the most tender and important stage of his life, his childhood. Someday, when he’s grown up, I would never have to look back and wish that I’d spent more time with my son. I would never have regrets.

Let me share with you a very inspiring letter written by a certain Lisa, a Stay-At-Home Mom.  Her letter is included in Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s book, In Praise of Stay-At-Home Moms.

Dr. Laura,

     As I sit to write this letter, my hope is that if just one mother can hear what I have to say and holds her child just a little tighter today, I will have fulfilled my reason for writing.

     By the time I was 29 our family was complete. I had three beautiful children, a loving husband, and although never money to spare, we found ways to get by. Although I had my mother and mother-in-law to babysit whenever I needed, by the time my middle son was born, I knew I could not work anymore. Something inside of me told me that I had to spend as much time with my children as I could.

     There were many days where I was pulling out my hair, found myself screaming at them, and was totally exhausted by the end of the day, thinking to myself, “Any other work would be a pleasant relief.” But there were also many moments I would never trade in for any job, no matter what the pay. Those moments when your child gives you a smile or a look you never forget, moments when they would give you a kiss, a hug, or just hold your hand for no reason. Those are the moments a mother treasures in her heart forever…

     Two years ago my middle son was killed in an auto accident. He was 22 years old. He was away at college when he decided to get in a car where the driver had been drinking; ten minutes later he was dead.
Our lives will never be the same again; the world as we knew it had been destroyed. We miss our son terribly. My husband, surviving two children, and I will never be the same, but we are trying to hold on to each other and pick up the pieces, one piece at a time.

     Dr. Laura, there is only one thing I can say. I am so grateful for those moments I had with my son. Those moments, the good as well as the crazy ones, I will forever hold close to my heart. All those precious years I spent with my son now are what help me get through the day.

     So please, Dr. Laura, never stop reaching to all the young moms who feel they can’t handle it, are struggling with making it through the day, who believe they “need” to work instead of being with their child, just how much it might someday mean to them to have spent those precious moments with their children. Hopefully other moms can just take my word for it: Don’t let anyone or anything prevent you from holding them, hugging them, playing with them, memorizing their smile, their laughter, their heart.                                                                     -Lisa

Never let a moment with your child slip away. Never miss an opportunity to spend time with your children. While they still want to play with you… while they still depend on you… while they still long to hold your hand…