Holding onto Three

Any parent will tell you how quickly time flies. Any grandparent will tell you if you blink, suddenly your little ones are grown and starting families of their own. And great-grandparents? Don’t even get them started on the swift passage of time.

I was excited to celebrate my daughters’ transitions to age one and my oldest turning two, and then three. Each of those milestones meant new experiences, as the personality of this sweet little thing bloomed and flourished. While I’m looking forward to the fun that age four will bring, I am feeling the need to dig my nails into time and tell it to SLOW DOWN! Slow down and let me absorb each and every wonderful moment that having a three-year-old daughter brings.

Three is downright magical. It’s the perfect balance of capability, enthusiasm, and innocence. A three-year-old makes everything exciting. Mine in particular is sensitive, sweet, funny, and unapologetically girly.

So while bidding age three adieu is bittersweet, I look forward to the joy that age four will bring. The really beautiful thing is we get to anticipate the experience of age three again as this delightful girl’s precious baby sister grows.

I recently read a blog post written by a mother of a boy who passed away suddenly at a young age. She urged us as parents not to mourn our children getting older, but to be thankful for every one of those birthday celebrations because nothing is certain. Getting to know our children at every unique and beautiful age is truly a blessing, even if we don’t think we’re quite ready for them to grow up.