05/22/2026
🔊Sound on. I used the same for my oldest. For me, it captures everything so perfectly.
The very idea of you, while we waited, was a thrill all its own. Joyful anticipation is how I would describe the feeling. We painted your nursery in what we felt was the perfect shade of pink. We talked to your big brother about the arrival of “baby”. I culled through names and outfits and had everything ready. There was a lot of excitement about this new little human, coming soon.
Our dream arrived quickly, in screaming color, with sleepless nights and difficult days. But it was all the anticipation and excitement of watching you smile for the first time. Your first words. Your first steps. Those seemingly small things were really big ones for us. And with each day as you grew... so did our love for you.
It’s the “lasts” that always take me by surprise. It was the little ways I didn’t even realize, slipping by in the fleeting landscape beyond a car window. Life tends to get a little jumbled in the everyday. Somewhere in between feeding the dogs and picking up the groceries, and the mundane moments... was the last time I picked you up. The final time I rocked you to sleep. And then, graduation was here. I knew all these lasts were coming, but I wasn’t ready. I never will be. Those moments, the ones that passed us by, are the ones that feel so bittersweet.
Because I don’t even understand how we got here.
At some point, you grew from that tiny, screaming, beautiful bundle who demanded our attention 24/7 to an incredible human with a blindingly bright future. This is the next chapter for you, and I selfishly don’t want to turn the page. But I’m so grateful for every moment I’ve been given in the honor of being a part of it. It’s been a season of lasts for us, but it’s also a season of exciting beginnings. It’s time to hand you your own book. And it’s with great anticipation that we can’t wait to watch you write your own chapters.
The days are very long. The years move way too fast. I’ve tried my very best to be present amid the moving chaos. Because the “lasts” are the ones that will take your breath away.
Congratulations,
