I have seen so many Facebook posts about “remember these days because it might be the last time your child {insert action here}. Maybe it is the last time your child nurses, wears a diaper, wants to be rocked or held, wants picked up, needs you to feed them, etc.

As a photographer and as a parent, I usually look at pictures as a whole. But, I often forget, like many of us do, that it isn’t always about the whole photo. Sometimes it is mainly about those details that won’t be there someday: the tiny little toes, the way your little one’s nose turns up at the end, those sweet little ears, or that perfect little smile.

My six year old came up to give me a hug this morning and as I tried to pick her up, I realized two things:

1. She is super heavy ( or I must be weak ) ( probably both!)

2. I haven’t picked her up in a long time

When we are caught in the midst of parenting – of mommying or daddying – it seems never-ending. Some days are harder than others, where you feel like you might not make it: the constant picking up and putting down, the comforting, the loving, the holding, the rocking, the nursing, the changing diapers, the waiting for the bottle to warm up while your baby is screaming.

And then all of a sudden – it stops. And that hardest part about realizing later that it stopped? There was never a warning. There was no alarm that went “beep beep beep 2 more weeks of rocking and this will be over.” The ticklefests before bed, or the wanting them to push you on the swings will be traded in for you driving them to the movies with their friends and then eventually they will be driving themselves.

We aren’t even there yet and I am already noticing that it is happening. So, instead of fretting that we can’t hold on forever, I start snapping photos – at least if I can’t have a physical reminder, I will have a visual reminder to take me back.