Hug Them a Little Tighter... Not Just Tonight, But Every Time You Get the Chance.

I am scrubbing the vanity and cleaning the mirror in the bathroom as I hear Taylor Swift’s voice on the radio. As you know I may just be her biggest fan, so I was a little caught off guard when I did not recognize the chords of the song that were streaming from the boom box sitting on the floor at my feet. (Yes, I still have a boom box. And yes, it is awesome.) Anyway, I put down my sponge and sat on the floor to listen to this mysterious melody. Within seconds the tears start rolling down my cheeks as I listen to each word and see images of my little nieces and nephews in my mind.

The song: “Ronan.” Swift wrote the song about a 3-year-old boy who died last year after battling cancer, and she sings it from the perspective of his mother. Swift learned about Ronan’s story from his mother’s blog that is dedicated to raising awareness of children with cancer.

Wow. So emotional. As I listen to the song over and over, the only thing I can think of is that Ronan could have easily been one of my nephews (Brady, Joshua, Jackson, and Lucas) or my nieces (Samantha, Lauren, and the Cantu girls).  I cannot fathom the pain that Ronan’s mother, father, brothers, aunts, grandparents, or anyone else who knew that precious little blue-eyed boy has and will continue to experience since that heartbreaking day in May 2011.

As Swift sings about “plastic dinosaurs,” “a little laugh,” and “dancing before bed time,” I just want to hold on to all the little ones in my life and never let them go. Too often we go through this life taking almost everything for granted. Tomorrow is not promised to us. Children grow up. Children get sick, and sadly sometimes children do not live to see a grown-up life.

 

 

The short amount of time that we do get to spend with the little ones that we love so much is never enough. Hug them more. Kiss their little cheeks. Tell them that you love them…all the time. Please never assume that they just “know” how you feel. Live every day like it is your and even their last day on this earth. Love them and soak up every ounce of love that they give you in return. Listen to their laughs and their bare feet as they thump on the wood floors. Let them dance in their pajamas and sing their favorite songs at the top of their lungs. Sing and dance along with them! Even if you know you have a million things to do and may be “too busy right this second,” take a break: listen to them, play a game with them, read a book with them, sit there and hold them as you watch a movie together. Whatever it is, please never take them or any day you have with them for granted.  

If you had only one day left with your child, niece, nephew, grandchild, friend’s child, etc., how would you spend it?

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/taylorronan-thompson-article-1.1157558#ixzz26MOQlB38