Slow Down

Today is Caroline's first birthday. As I think about how fast her first year has gone, it reminds me of how fast Evan's 11 years have gone, how fast Chloe's 8 years have gone. So very fast. A blink of an eye. Evan has 7 more summers at home with us. Let that sink in for a minute. It is so hard to put into words the bittersweet mixture of joy, pride, sorrow, and loss that you feel as you watch your children grow. It is absolutely breathtaking. A miracle. I love this song. It describes it so well.

"Slow Down"
by Nichole Nordeman

Here’s to you
You were pink or blue
And everything I wanted
Here’s to you
Never sleeping through
From midnight till the morning
Had to crawl before you walked
Before you ran
Before I knew it
You were trying to free your fingers from my hand
‘Cause you could it on your own now somehow

Slow down
Won’t you stay here a minute more
I know you want to walk through the door
But it’s all too fast
Let’s make it last a little while
I pointed to the sky and now you wanna fly
I am your biggest fan
I hope you know I am
But do you think you can somehow
Slow down

Here’s to you
Every missing tooth
Every bedtime story
Here’s to Barbie cars, light saber wars
Sleeping in on Sunday
Had to crawl
Before you walked
Before you ran
Before I knew it
You were teaching me
The only thing love can
Hold hands through it
When it’s scary, you’ve got me

Slow down
Won’t you stay here a minute more
I know you want to walk through the door
But it’s all too fast
Let’s make it last a little while
I pointed to the sky and now you wanna fly
I am your biggest fan
I hope you know I am
But do you think you can somehow
Slow down

Please don’t roll your eyes at me
I know I’m embarrassing
But someday you’ll understand
You’ll hold a little hand
Ask them if they can

I am your biggest fan
I hope you know I am
But do you think you can
Somehow
Slow down
Slow down

I love you so very much and want you to know that I have loved every minute and can't wait to see what the future holds. Although I could wait a little bit, if you could figure out how to slow down. 

Evan

Chloe

 

And my baby... Caroline