God made me a father 18 years and almost eight months ago with the arrival of my firstborn son. Gehrig was six weeks early and spent six days in the neonatal intensive care unit at Piedmont Rockdale, but for my wife and I, he was right on time. Two years, five months and five days later, his brother was born. Gibson was a few days late and may have remained in the womb forever had doctors allowed him to do so, but again, for my wife and I, he was right on time.
When the always-brilliant Scott Fuss submitted the artwork that now graces the cover for this issue of The Newton Community Magazine, I was struck by a sobering thought. Our nest will soon be empty. No matter how hard we may try, we cannot slow down the passage of time. The days, months and years have whizzed by, often without us noticing. Routine keeps you distracted. The two boys, now young men, who have so enriched our lives every day for the past 18-plus years will sooner or later have to move on. They will start families of their own and begin the process all over again. I can almost hear the clock ticking sometimes.
We know our jobs as parents will never really end, even after our kids move out from under our roof and venture into the great unknown. Nevertheless, my wife and I have started our transition from caregivers to advisors. While it has not been easy on either of us, it helps that we have always tried to put our marriage first and viewed our children as belonging to God. He loans them to us for a time. We just wish it could last longer.
As the late Billy Graham once said, “Someday your children will leave. You can’t hold on to them or control them forever, nor should you.”
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