This is it. He’s our last baby. Twenty-two years of raising babies so far, and we’re down to just our “little” boy who can still be held (ish). Our twins—our next oldest—are both taller than me by a ton. So what wisdom do I have to impart this week of thanksgiving and reflection? Hold them. That’s it. That’s the tweet. If your kids still want to crawl up on your lap, or into your arms, even if they’re as big as or bigger than you, then you’ve done it. If they don’t, it’s not too late. It’s never too late. Start listening to them today. Set your pride aside and realize that it’s almost never about you. They’re just people and they’re just doing the best that they can. They hurt your feelings and offend you. They might even embarrass you when they make choices that seem to reflect poorly on your parenting. They aren’t thinking of you. I promise. They’re so busy figuring out their own life that your feelings don’t even figure in at all. So don’t be offended by your kids. Just love them. And when you love them, and see them as just people who are trying to navigate hard things (just like you) then your capacity for compassion and forgiveness grows to cover a multitude of hurt feelings and wounded pride. It goes so fast. And all that really matters in the end is the relationships that you have with them when they’re grown. We call it keeping an eternal perspective. You can call it whatever you want, but it really just comes down to building relationships that make them feel safe scooting in close to you. We’ve been away from the farm for a couple of years, and that meant being away from my parents, our grown kids, and our holiday traditions. Yesterday we got back to normal with a trip to the tree farm, and Jack and I decided to recreate our picture from 3 years ago. We decided we’d do this every year, and have some type of celebration when we have to switch from me holding him, to him holding me. My bet is on two more years—but it may be sooner if he keeps on at the pace he’s going. Speaking of: shop the link in my bio for great deals for growing boys. LTKkids LTKfamily LTKHoliday