There's always a last time
This morning, I dropped off my five year old at the kindergarten.
As I was leaving the building, one I’ve been in countless times over the past several years, a thought occurred to me:
This is one of the last times I will be here, doing this.
Next September, my daughter will be starting school and, an activity I started with eldest daughter back in 2021, will come to an end.
I will no longer will be dropping my children off at kindergarten.
As a parent, that thought hits hard.
I find that my children’s milestones are always bittersweet moments.
On the one hand, I am so happy to see them grow and flourish.
On the other, I am painfully aware that the page has firmly been turned on a period of life, one that will only live on in my memory.
(A good example of this was when, a couple of weeks ago, my youngest front tooth started wobbling. She was so excited — ‘the tooth fairy will come!’ — but part of my heart sank at the thought that I will soon never see her baby smile again).
My point is, as banal or trivial as things may seem, there will always, without fail, be a last time something happens.
There will be a last time you will get to eat your favorite take-out.
There will be a last time you will get to talk with that close friend.
There will be a last time you will get to feel the sun’s warmth on your face.
Whatever it is, this realisation is profound because it has the power to completely alter your perception.
For example, there will also be a last time you will have to wait for the bus in the rain.
Or deal with that difficult co-worker.
Whether positive or negative, knowing that this will be your last time experiencing something, how might you view it differently?
What is there to notice in that moment that you didn’t previously notice?
What is there to savor and be grateful for?
Life is fleeting.
And in it’s fleetingness, it’s so worth pausing for a moment and notice it for what it is.
Till next time,
Ben
Is this thought relatable? Can you share a moment you experienced in which this thought taught you to look at the moment a little differently?
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Such beauty and fragility in our ephemeral lives. Beautifully written Ben! Thanks for sharing.