The mix of emotions is almost impossible to put into words. On one hand, there’s the nostalgia of seeing your oldest heading into a night she’s been looking forward to for years, the last dances, the last “spirit weeks,” the last moments with the friends who have walked beside her through high school. On the other hand, there’s the sweetness of watching your youngest step into this new world of firsts — first high school dance, first real pictures with friends all dressed up, first taste of the memories she’ll get to make over the next four years.
It’s a season of firsts and lasts all happening at once.
Days Are Long, Years Are Short
I never fully understood that phrase until now. The years really do go by too quickly. One day you’re walking them into kindergarten with backpacks that seemed too big for their little bodies. The next you are sitting at college night, listening to admissions counselors, asking questions about applications, and mapping out visits to college campuses.
Those long days of car rides to all the practices, competitions, games, homework, the chaos of weekday dinners, and after school activities and sports once felt endless. Looking back, I realize how quickly they went by.
This stage of motherhood teaches you how to hold two truths at the same time. There is joy in seeing who they are becoming and grief in saying goodbye to the little girls they once were. There is pride in their independence and a little bit of heartache in remembering the years when they needed you for everything. You’re helping them prepare for applications, essays, and college visits, while also remembering the first time they learned to ride a bike or tie their shoes, or the words they used to pronounce incorrectly.
It’s beautiful and hard all at once.
And maybe that’s what this chapter of motherhood is really about, learning to hold both joy and grief in the same breath.
If you’re in this season too, of seniors and freshmen, of college nights and last dances, of firsts and lasts colliding, my only advice is this: soak it in. Take the pictures, save the silly Snapchats, or TikToks. Listen when they want to tell you the details of the night, even if you’re half asleep.
Save the memories in your heart, no matter how small they seem. These firsts and lasts are not just their memories, they’re ours too.
The days can feel long, but the years are moving faster than we realize.
Nikki Lanigan
Nikki Lanigan is a yoga, HIIT, and Barre instructor, she is also a Holistic Health Coach through Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Nikki is trained in Yoga Shred, Yoga Psychology, meditation, chakra balancing, and EFT/Tapping. She has done trainings with Sadie Nardini and Ashley Turner. She got her 200 hour yoga teacher training in 2017 at the Carrie Treister School Of Yoga. Nikki takes a holistic view of health, helping her students and clients reach a place of self-love not just through movement, but with mindset and lifestyle guidance as well. Nikki is also show prep writer for The McVay Media Show Prep and host of the podcast Fit, Fun, and Frazzled. Connect with Nikki on Instagram. www.instagram.com/nikkilanigan.yogaandwellness www.instagram.com/fitfunandfrazzledpodcast
