Drawers & Memories

While cleaning out my dresser, I broke my nail.    Deciding I would need the nail clippers in my nightstand, I walked over and opened the drawer. 

There it was staring at me.  My youngest son's binky.

It caught me off guard.

My youngest is 19 now.  The binky is old and well past it's prime.
Yet, all these years, I could never throw it out.

I remember the day he gave it up.  He had made the decision he was a big boy and didn't need it.

I wasn't so sure.

He loved his binky and I envisioned long sleepless nights without it; for him and for me.
I placed it in my nightstand drawer just in case.

The just-in-case never came.
Despite changing nightstands a couple of times since then, I was the one who couldn't part with it.

Funny how that works.

So tonight I sit here, a little melancholy for days gone by tucked safely in the past.
Tiny fingers have given way to man size hugs.
Strapping in car seats have given way to surprise visits at work.
Bedtime stories replaced with texts and phone calls.
The "I love you" is the same; only the voice has changed.

While it's easy to get lost in the memories of yesterday, it's a gentle reminder how much parenting evolves in every one of life's seasons.  

The season of this year looks different for all of us.
But you know what?
Some day in our tomorrows, this will be our yesterday.

And My hope tonight is simple.  May this season in this year bring warm smiles from yesterdays that light into your tomorrows.

The tomorrows wait for us.
Just like old binkies in nightstand drawers.