It’s New Year’s Eve 2013. We’ve had a great Christmas season at the Hectic Household with nine of the ten of us here. Our missing part had to stay in NYC for work, and we missed her terribly. The good news for her is that she’s found her own apartment and will be moved in by the first week of the new year.

I’m a bit sad today though, because one of my twin daughters drove back to school for her last semester of undergraduate work today. I don’t really like the kids driving tonight, but it allowed her to stay a couple of days longer by her having a car. She had a lot more flexibility than in the past where we were dependent on airlines and pre-arranged flights and crazy airline schedules.

But seeing her car drive down the driveway for her last school break when I know she’ll be home was very bittersweet.

It’s not that I don’t want my kids to grow up and experience all that life will offer them. I’m all for that. But I’m a Dad, and having little girls and little boys goes by so fast. I look back and really wonder where the years have gone and how things went by so quickly. First steps. Training wheels. Roller skates, then roller blades. Bumps and bruises. Rushed school projects. Forgotten papers. First boyfriends/girlfriends. First heartbreaks. Sports. Travel. All of that has gone by so quickly.

So I’m sitting here this afternoon looking forward to an amazing 2014 yet to come, but thinking about 2013 and all the years that have gone before and wishing, just a little bit, that time would slow down.

Here’s hoping that you had a great 2013 and that 2014 brings you even more of what you hope for. And while you’re at it, if you’ve got ’em, give your kids a great big hug. If you can’t hug them, find a way to let them know how special they are.