08/29/2026
Yesterday I helped move my youngest daughter into college.
When I moved my oldest daughter into college, I wasn't worried a bit. Even though I cried a lot on the way home, I knew she would be fine. And she was. She thrived in college, and I couldn't be prouder of the young woman she has grown into.
Yesterday was different.
I'm not really sure why, but as we walked away from her dorm, my oldest daughter and I both said the same thing: it felt strange leaving without my baby girl.
She isn't even that far away. In fact, she's closer to home than her sister was when she left for college. But somehow, this goodbye felt heavier.
As we were getting her things settled into her dorm room, my baby girl reminded me of the moment captured in this picture. She was two years old. She came toddling toward me wrapped in bubble wrap, hands clasped together, and proudly announced, “I getting mawwied!”
I immediately gasped, grabbed my camera, and captured my little “bubble wrap bride.”
What I remember most, though, is the feeling that came over me as I took that picture. Even then, somewhere deep in my mama heart, I felt a little sadness. I remember realizing that babies don't keep. That one day, this tiny little girl would grow up. That “getting mawwied” would sneak up on me much faster than I was ready for.
Maybe that's why yesterday felt so heavy.
Maybe somewhere inside me, I realized just how quickly my babies are growing up. Too quickly for me.
My oldest daughter started college and finished college in what felt like the blink of an eye. And now, here I am, watching my youngest start her own journey. Soon, my son may follow suit.
And one day, in the not-so-distant future, my sweet baby girl may actually walk down an aisle to “get mawwied” in a beautiful dress that is definitely NOT made of bubble wrap.
And I'll look at her and see this little girl; I'll blink, and swear this picture was taken yesterday.
And my mama heart will be heavy all over again.
Babies don't keep, y'all.
I know this is how it's supposed to be. I know I'm supposed to raise them to grow, to become independent, to find their own paths and build beautiful lives of their own. And I am so incredibly proud of the wonderful young adults all three of my children are becoming- I truly am.
I'm also learning that you can be excited about the next chapter and still grieve the ones that have already ended.
Because while I'm loving this new phase of motherhood- getting to know my children as adults, watching them make their own choices, and seeing the people they're becoming- there will always be a little part of me that aches for the days when they were small enough to need me for everything.
The sticky hands. The bedtime snuggles. The little voices. The bubble wrap brides.
I wouldn't trade where we are for anything, but if I could go back and hold those babies for just one more minute, I sure would.
Babies don't keep.
So I'm going to try to hold this chapter a little tighter, too. ❤️
