So one of my little girls comes up to me, grabs me in a big hug and doesn’t let go. She tells me, “daddy, I don’t wanna ever grow up, because when I grow up, I will have to leave you and mommy, and I don’t ever wanna do that. I wanna be with you forever.” These are the kind of things an eight year old says to you that you’ll never hear from a teenager. I love them both so much, how I would love for this stage of their life to never end, for me to constantly be greeted by such effusive displays of affection. And yet, I know that thoughts like those are from the selfish part of me. For I know that the kind of love I have for them, the kind of love that would make me give my life in exchange for theirs, it’s the same kind of love that will be theirs someday as well, when they grow up to become parents of their own. Who am I to wish that they be deprived of such a beautiful and priceless part of their own journey through life? And so, I remind myself, that if I truly love them, I must always wish the best for them, even if it means giving up something precious for myself. That is the lot of a parent. And I would have it no other way.
