I’ll Hold You. Always.

My daughter was outside, riding her scooter while her brother watched her. I was in my bedroom working when I heard the familiar cry.
I jumped up out of my chair and ran to the front door.
My daughter was crying

, holding her hand close to her chest. She had fallen off of her scooter and scraped her hand and knee. Nothing serious, just a couple little scratches.
I asked her if she was okay and knelt down to kiss her hand.
“It burns!” She cried.
“I know it burns. But it’s just a little scratch. We’ll clean it up, put a bandage on it and you’ll be fine.”
We washed the cut, applied some ointment and put bandages on the scratches. I hugged her and told her to lay down for a few minutes.
A minute later, I heard her crying again.
My felt annoyed. It’s just a scratch. There’s not even any blood! I wanted to tell her to stop crying. I wanted to tell her to stop being dramatic. I wanted to tell her it was okay, to take a deep breath and chill.
But then I thought of my son. My little baby boy who is now driving my car without me in it and waiting to ship off to Marine boot camp. I thought of holding him in my arms when he would get hurt. I thought of how he was once little just like her and now he’s a grown man. And it all happened in the blink of an eye. Every bit of annoyance that I felt with her dramatics melted away. I just wanted to hold my little girl. Because she’s still little enough that I can, but she won’t be for very long.
I sat down on the sofa next to her, scooped her up into my lap and held her tightly. I kissed the top of her head.
“I know, sweetie. I know. Boo boo’s hurt. I’m so sorry you got hurt.”
I lifted her hand up to my mouth and started to blow gently near the bandage.
“Does that help? Does that make it feel better?”
She nodded and buried her face into my chest.

“I’ll hold you for as long as you want me to, baby girl.”

I may not be able to hold her in my arms for much longer, but I will hold her in my heart until my very last breath.
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18 thoughts on “I’ll Hold You. Always.

  1. ElizabethZ

    Lovely post. I try to remember this with my little boys too. They will be driving before I know it and hugging me is going to be the LAST thing they want to do. *sniff*

  2. Debbie in Memphis

    “I may not be able to hold her in my arms for much longer, but I will hold her in my heart until my very last breath.”
    I love that! The essence of being a mom.

  3. MissyK

    Beautiful post. Oh how fast they grow. My “baby” boy just had a daughter of his own two weeks ago. It just seems impossible that he isn’t that little guy that would get boo boo’s like this any more. Where did the time go?

  4. Beth Nixon

    Wonderful post. That’s exactly how I treat my kids when they are hurt or scared. As long as they need me, I’ll hold them. And I’m thrilled (but sad) when they show me their independence. Parenting is a journey of conflicting emotions!

  5. Suzette

    This made me tear up too. I was just thinking the exact same thing the other day while watching my almost four year old daughter play in the yard. I can’t believe how fast it goes by. I ran out in the yard and scooped her up and held her close. Like you said “I will hold her in my heart until my very last breath. ”

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