Pause. Take a deep breath. and Consider.

If I could make one addition to life, I'd add a pause button.

This week, I've been scrambling and searching for that button, doing my best to grab onto the hands of time and make them drag slower.

All of a sudden, I feel like time is racing by. Siblings and friends are growing up, and yet, I try to deny it, insisting that nothing's changing. All is just as it was yesterday. Tomorrow will be no different.
I'll always spend evenings in the kitchen washing dishes with Leslie and my mom. I'll always be able to sit on my mom and dad's bed, asking questions, telling stories, talking the night away. I'll always have little sisters to hush, cuddle, and herd to bed.

I love the stanza from Karen Kingsbury's poem "Let Me Hold You Longer", where she writes, "My life keeps moving faster, stealing precious days that pass.
I want to hold on longer -- want to recognize [the] lasts..."

Soon will come the last time Layne will want to wrestle with me or want me to read her a story. Before you know it, Leslie and I won't be stuck sharing a room. The days of oatmeal and strict school schedules will be gone all too soon.

So pause. Take a deep breath. and consider...before you know it, time will be gone, those little moments swept away with it. So cuddle the cute little kid. Tell the husband or wife how much you love them. Spend a few extra minutes telling your parents goodnight.

"I never said goodbye to all [the] yesterdays long past.
So what about tomorrow -- will I recognize [the] lasts?"