I heard the same story two times this week. It was told by two different fathers that live half a country apart. Each father explained what it was like to drop his daughter off at college for the first day of her freshman year. Both fathers explained in very similar words, "She thought that I was dropping off a 17 year old that was ready to go out into the world. What she didn't understand was that I still saw her as a kindergartner standing at her locker on the first day of school."

"It happened in the blink of an eye," these fathers told me. The emptiness in their hearts made me cherish the time that I have with my own children.

My daughter is starting kindergarten tomorrow. Could it really go that fast?

I can't think ahead to her first day of college. I can't stand the thought of telling her I love her and saying good bye. Right now, all I can do is enjoy the time I have with my little girl and let my love for her fill the huge space she holds in my heart. When I drop her off at school tomorrow, I will hold her extra long as I hug her goodbye. When the days are hard and the nights are long, I will do everything I can do to remember that it will be all too soon before she is off to college. In the blink of an eye she will be 17, and just like these fathers, I am sure that I will see see her as the little girl that will be standing in front of her locker tomorrow.

To my beautiful daughter, I love you.