Instagram Is Raining Hearts On Andrew Zimmern's Family Update

As every parent knows, time refuses to stand still, no matter how you wish it would. Those cute kids playing in your yard today will be teenagers refusing to come out of their rooms tomorrow, and the day after that they'll be adults who are grown and flown with families of their own. We can't say we weren't warned, since not only has this been the case throughout human history, but Harry Chapin's 1974 hit "Cat's in the Cradle" (via YouTube) literally spells the whole process out for us. The only way to freeze time is by capturing those fleeting golden moments with a camera, then bringing out the pics for some nostalgic wallowing at a later date.

Not even celebrities can stop the passage of time. Case in point: Andrew Zimmern, who recently shared an Instagram post with an adorable picture of his 6-year-old son "throwing bad apples into a field on an orchard trip." The kid's red hair perfectly matches the fall foliage, and it's all very "aww" except for one thing — the photo was taken 10 years ago. Today no-longer-little Noah is 16 years old, Zimmern and his wife are divorced, and, as the "Bizarre Foods" host acknowledged in another Instagram post, "Our story isn't an easy one. No one's is." Still, it seems Noah's willing to hang out with the old man on occasion, since there was also a pic of the two taken on a recent trail ride at Zion National Park.

One of the things guaranteed to annoy any kid under the age of 25 or so is when a distant relative or family friend remarks "My, how you've grown." Well, let's hope Noah has the sense not to pay any attention to his dad's recent Instagram post, since many of the comments on this update were along these lines. As one person said of Noah, "Jesus he is a big boy. What are you guys feeding the kid." Another remarked: "Maybe he's grown a little bit." A third told Zimmern, "He's growing he'll be taller than you before you know it," but a fourth pointed out "He's taller than you" already. (Or was that just the angle at which the photo was taken?)

Still, other commenters preferred to express themselves with heart emojis, although one person managed to verbalize: "This is really wonderful." Others provided Zimmern with a little parenting advice that would have been more useful had he received it 10 years ago: "Treasure these times," and "Grasp the moment and cherish the time." Bittersweet words, since at 16, Noah's likely already got a foot out the door. Still, Zimmern could hardly be blamed for wanting to hark back to those "happy golden days of yore."