“Don’t blink” they told me. Not possible I learned.

I blinked.

Today marks the one month countdown before graduation. A journey that began when MySpace was popular.

It’s the last hurrah of high school. Our last dance. The final chapter in Book 1. The end of a milestone. The “lasts” I have dreaded yet been excited to celebrate. It feels like we went  from learning to count together to counting the days down together.

I blinked.

Those tiny feet and little toes are now strong enough to carry her into the new journey, the start of the next book of amazing adventures that await her.

I blinked.

I once heard the older your child gets, the closer the goodbye becomes—and it’s so painfully true. I cherished, relished and enjoyed most (just being honest, I did not enjoy EVERY moment!!) of the moments just like they told me to, but nothing can slow down  Father Time.

I blinked.

I had sleepless nights worrying about her, from the days that I held her in my arms to the days I could only hold her in my heart to the moments now where she asks for a hug and we hold on extra tight to each other.

I blinked.

Being a parent is always exhausting, some days offering a different kind of tired that it seems there is no cure for. And yet, we never give up. Or never stop getting up or showing up. We never stop praying for them, supporting them and loving them. Parenthood is always a balance between missing what was and looking forward to what will be… and in the end it is simply a beauty love story that captures our heart from the first page.

I blinked.

It’s funny how quickly time passes and in what feels like a split second, a strong adult stands where a sweet child once stood. The chasm between childhood and adulthood catches you by surprise and once you take a leap across to the other side, you never go back.

I blinked.

But I didn’t miss it all. I’m beginning to understand this is how life works. Instead of trying to will time to stop, I’m leaning in and dancing with it. I’m savoring the dash, the blink, the flash of time… because the truth is… something incredible and magical happened and someone incredible and magical is being launched into the world.

And in the end, that beautiful blink was worth it.