Every parent’s deepest fear is losing their child. And the terrible, beautiful tragedy of parenthood is that, indeed, we are constantly losing our children. Day by day by day. 

Not literally, of course, but in the sense that they are growing, changing, becoming something new, something more independent. On a daily if not an hourly basis. On the Daily Stoic podcast recently, Professor Scott Galloway talked about the profound grief he felt looking at a picture of his 11 year old. Yes it was true that that 11 year old was now a great 14 year old, but the 11 year old was no more. 

Such is our fate. Such is the life we signed up for. 

We want them to grow. We can’t wait for them to start walking, to start school, to experience all the wonderful things that life has in store for them. Yet this also means that they’ll never again be what they are right now—that what they are right now is ephemeral and fleeting for us at best. Blink, get distracted, take it for granted? It’s gone. You’ve missed it. 

Remember: Tempus fugit. Time flies (check out our helpful reminder). Seize it and hold onto them while you can. Seize it before you lose it and them forever. 

Head over to the Daily Dad store to pick up The Tempus Fugit medallion. The front of the coin features two hourglasses—the essential symbol of the essential aspect of life: time—one to represent you and one to represent your children. On the back are the two reminders we parents need every day: “They grow up so fast” surrounded by, “All time is quality time.” In a world of constant distractions and unlimited obligations competing for our time and attention, this medallion is the perfect reminder to hold the present tight, to embrace the people you love as much as humanly possible for as long as humanly possible.