Jenna Bush Hager is savoring every moment with her family, even the ones that make her cry in public.
During the July 30 episode of TODAY with Jenna & Friends, Jenna and her guest co-host, Tyra Banks, spoke about a recent experience she had while attending a Gracie Abrams concert with her eldest daughter, Mila, who will head into middle school this year.
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“I don’t know, I’m going through something,” Jenna explained at the top of the clip, where she reflected on how unexpectedly emotional she became during the show.
In addition to Mila, the host’s Instagram story showed her at the concert in attendance with her husband, Henry Hager, and their younger daughter, Poppy.
“For whatever reason, we sat down — and think about how embarrassing this is as a child,” she said, being able to laugh now. “And just seeing how excited they were for (Gracie Abrams), I started crying. I was like, ‘This is so beautiful.’”
Jenna, who is also mom to son Hal, explained that seeing Mila’s enthusiasm brought on a wave of feelings as she began to appreciate the opportunity “to see the concert through their eyes.”
Jenna went on to share that she had a moment of realization about how quickly things are changing in her family, just as Henry left to grab snacks for the family.
“I was just thinking, like, this could be the last time my seventh grader is cool with sitting next to her mom at a concert,” she recalled. “In a few years, she’s gonna be going with all of her buddies…”
“And not mommy,” Tyra finished with sympathy.
Jenna recalled in good humor how by the time Henry returned, he found her in tears.
“He’s like, ‘Are you crying again?’ And I was like, ‘I just was thinking, time is going so fast,’” Jenna explained, adding that this all happened as her daughter was still holding her hand, an interaction whose days feel numbered now as Mila gets older. “He’s like, ‘Don’t cry. She’s humiliated.’ You want to keep her next to you,” she recalled with a laugh of Henry’s advice.
Despite the tears, Jenna said the concert was one filled with joy and left her with a memory and a lesson she’ll continue to cherish.
“It was so fun, and it was just a moment… Maybe it was too much, but you’re right, we gotta live,” she told Tyra. “Live, and just take that in, with so much time.”
Jenna’s openness about her experience clearly struck a chord with the moms in the comments section of the post, which was also shared by the Jenna and Friends Instagram account.
“Getting ready to move our 18-year-old daughter into a dorm in 2 weeks. It all goes by so fast!” wrote a user.
“Always too fast,” another added.
“I get it!!” one more replied. “I also immediately cry thinking of time passing so quickly.”
Another person commented, “Now I’m crying, @jennabhager as I’m organizing all my daughter’s dorm stuff. She was just 2yrs old and now she’s leaving her mama behind, y’all. This is too much.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
