She was probably about 4 years old. Getting almost too big to easily pick up and hold, but she lifted both hands to her father in the international language that meant she wanted to be. And he did. She laid her head on his shoulders and you could tell his heart melted. As I observed while waiting on my breakfast order, my heart melted, too.
The little girl, with her chubby cheeks and thick shiny hair reminded me of my daughter, Shelby. I wanted to tell the young father to soak it in, relish these moments because they pass in a nanosecond. A time will come and he won’t know it at that moment, but it will be the last time that she raises her arms to be lifted and held. And one day in the too soon to come future, he’ll be preparing his daughter for college and he’ll think back to the last time he held her in this way and he won’t be able to remember.
These were my thoughts standing in the Corner Bagel in Anderson, SC as my 16 year old daughter, Shelby toured Anderson University a mile down the road.
Nanosecond, I’m telling you.
Onword and Upwords by Dennis Brady 