Lasting Firsts

When you have two children, every milestone your kids experience is a super momentous occasion – because it is either a first or a last, or sometimes both. Let me explain with a few examples.

Our older daughter lost her first tooth a few months before she turned five years old. It was a huge deal in our family because we’d never had a visit from the Tooth Fairy before and it was an important first for us. But we were just as excited last week when our younger daughter lost HER first tooth – a few months before her fifth birthday, just like her sister. While this was a first-time experience for our little girl, it was also sentimental because, as the baby of the family, she would be our last child to lose her first tooth.

‘Tis the season for transitions and endings and looking ahead to new beginnings. This month will bring school programs, diplomas, readiness tests for the next academic levels and end-of-the-year parties. Just last May, I remember attending our elder daughter’s pre-school graduation and Mother’s Day Tea with tears in my eyes because I couldn’t believe we had a child who was old enough to be doing those things for the first time – and within the next two weeks, I will be crying at her little sister’s same events because that will mean we don’t have any “babies” at home anymore.

Now before I receive angry comments from mothers with more than two kids, I’m not trying to say that their middle children’s milestones are any less noteworthy or celebrated than their oldest and youngest siblings.

I just know that we get very excited about our girls’ firsts – primarily because it’s such fun to watch them experience something new…but also because sometimes it’s a last that we know we need to savor and enjoy.