By AMY MILLER

amiller@tnonline.comToo often we as parents find ourselves in overdrive when it comes to parenting our children, running a home and working a full-time job.We are sleep deprived, overworked and feel under-appreciated.We do a tightrope walk daily, finding our balance somewhere between the life we used to have and the life we have now.But before long, as the days, months and years march by, we find ourselves looking back and realizing that while we were whining about our child not sleeping well or being a picky eater, they have grown up, further maturing into these little people with big personalities and newfound independence.Mommy is no longer needed to kiss a boo-boo or scare away the monsters under the bed.If we parents don't take the time to slow down our own lives, decades from now we will find ourselves realizing just how much we truly missed of our son or daughter's childhood. From tea parties, to rolling in the grass, all while we were looking toward the future or back into the past and not enjoying what we have right here in the present.The other day I stumbled upon this poem, "The Last Time," author unknown, and it made me realize just how fleeting these crazy moments in my child's and mine and my husband's lives really are. So please, take time to step back, smell the flowers your children (or grandchildren) pluck from the garden and hold them closely.All too soon this crazy experience we call life will be yet another memory."The Last Time"From the moment you hold your baby in your arms,You will never be the same.You might long for the person you were before,When you have freedom and time,And nothing in particular to worry about.You will know tiredness like you never knew it before,And days will run into days that are exactly the same,Full of feedings and burping,Nappy changes and crying,Whining and fighting,Naps or a lack of naps,It might seem like a never-ending cycle.But don't forget …There is a last time for everything.There will come a time when you will feed your baby for the very last time.They will fall asleep on you after a long dayAnd it will be the last time you ever hold your sleeping child.One day you will carry them on your hip then set them down,And never pick them up that way again.You will scrub their hair in the bath one nightAnd from that day on they will want to bathe alone.They will hold your hand to cross the road,Then never reach for it again.They will creep into your room at midnight for cuddles,And it will be the last night you ever wake to this.One afternoon you will sing "The Wheels on the Bus" and do all the actions,Then never sing them that song again.They will kiss you goodbye at the school gate,The next day they will ask to walk to the gate alone.You will read a final bedtime story and wipe your last dirty face.They will run to you with arms raised for the very last time.The thing is, you won't even know it's the last timeUntil there are no more times.And even then, it will take you a while to realize.So while you are living in these times,Remember there are only so many of themAnd when they are gone, you will yearn for just one more day of them.For one last time.