One Less Toothbrush

This past weekend my wife Chris and I moved our 19 year old son (our youngest) to Tennessee.
The state.

I wish it were a town close to here. But it’s not. It’s over an eight hour drive away. And I miss him already. As a father I have secretly looked forward to the empty nest days. And I think it hit me this summer as we were preparing for Andrew’s move: I miss yesterday more.

As I drive past soccer fields I think back to the days when both my kids played. It was drudgery sometimes, that getting up early on a Saturday morning with much of your day planned out. Not to mention practice a couple times a week. And then there was baseball. Man did we spend lots of time together. Practice several times a week before the season started and then two or three games a week. You learn a lot about each other as a father and son. As I drive past a ball field I have specific memories that stand out for each one. And the great families and friends and kids I met along the way. And more recently the concerts we’ve gone to and even driving to the recreation center to work out and play some hoops. I even miss the thrash metal music emanating from his bedroom.

I miss those days. My dad always told my wife and I to appreciate them. He said they grow up fast. I didn’t get it at the time. And I can give the same advice to other parents. But you have to experience a little separation to really get it, I think. Maybe when they go off to college. Or if they move away.

You look forward to some “down time” on the raising kids thing. And then that time comes. And suddenly you realize they were not yours alone to begin with. They were created by God for His glory and you were just a partner in raising them.

One day every parent will walk into the bathroom and realize what I did today.

There’s one less toothbrush in the holder.