The Joys of Watching Your Child Let Go

(moments after this picture was taken I experienced the joy of watching your child let go)

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During our Staycation my husband and I took our children ice skating for the first time. My daughter took the longest to get the motion of it and let go of the wall. When I watched her let go that first time and skate I could not help but think of how much joy I find in watching my children succeed at something new.

From the moment the child leaves the womb they begin firsts. First smile. First giggle. First step. First word.

But it does not end there, I have experienced their first time riding a bike, their first time reading on their own, their first time writing a sentence without me to guide them.

Which lead to bigger things, their first time using the stove, their first trip walking to the corner store all by themselves, and very soon, their first time driving a car.

Yet in each first I realize I myself am one step closer to an empty nest. One step closer to days without their hugs, mornings without their laughs, nights without their company.

And so I savor all these firsts, I drink them in, I celebrate them, I take photos of them, I even encourage them.

It is such a joy to watch your child become independent to see courage take flight, to see that all you have worked for all these years of parenting bearing fruit.

Take a moment today to drink it in. To watch for firsts and to savor them.

Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.