Me too!

I have a feeling that those moments in which you stop and wonder where the heck your "baby" went are going to be more and more frequent from here on. And to those who don't have kids yet, or who's kids aren't old enough to relate... I have some advice for you - cherish the moments, all of them. Even the tiny trivial moments that you let slip by without even a second thought, find something about that moment and enjoy it. Not just the moments in which your little guy hits his first t-ball and then runs towards third base. Not just in the moments when you're flashing pictures of them getting an award in school. Not just those moments that we all live for when you're watching them sleep! ;) Enjoy all of the moments. Even if it's that one moment that you want to curse after stepping on the sharp pointy fake gun sticking out the side of a little army guy that you asked your son to pick up 20 minutes ago. Even if it's while doing that extra 2 loads of little girl laundry A DAY because they are going through a phase in which the world will come to a screeching halt if your daughter doesn't get to change her outfit 4 times a day. Even when you're on your knees scrubbing oatmeal off the floor under the table, or stepping in sticky apple juice on the kitchen floor because they HAD to pour it themselves. I wish I had. I wish I had smiled at those moments and gave my kids just one more hug. I wish I would have cuddled 5 minutes longer or read one more book to them instead of feeling like I had to get up and finish the laundry. Because the day has already come and gone in which Shane got "too old" for army men and put them in a bag one day and brought them to me to give to his younger cousin. And I know one day Dion will stay in the same outfit for more than 3 hours and I'll miss the incessant laundry, I really will. And my floor is less and less sticky these days as I've only one short person who can't really pour it herself without spilling. They all know to run to first base, not third, after hitting the ball. They can all brush their own teeth. The things that once felt like chores, I miss. And if I thought the last 5-11 years have flown by, I have a feeling I'm really not going to like the speed of the next 15.

Incase you're wondering what brought this on, here's the "moment". Every morning when I drop the kids off at school I said, "I love you! Have a great day!!" And between the car doors slamming I hear the occasional, "OK!" or "Thanks!" or "I will!" and then they're off to their perceived "busy day" at school full of hop scotch, times tables, library, teather ball, and incessant breaks and snack periods. But not today; today was a first. I dropped Savannah and Lacey off first; wished Lacey luck on her test today, told Savannah I hoped she enjoyed her lunch she made herself this morning, and wish them a great day. Doors slammed and they were off. Then I took Shane over to his side of the campus. He leaned over to give me a kiss and as he opened the door I said, "Have a great day!". And he looked at me and sincerely said, "You too, Mom." Whaaaaat?? Me too??? Me too have a great day?? I said thanks and pull away. A little butterfly of happiness in my stomach kept the knot in my throat down. In that moment he wasn't that little boy that used to beg me to let him stay home from school to hang out with me and make cookies. He wasn't that little boy who only thought of his day and assumed mine stopped the minute I dropped them off. In that moment he was growing up, and it was bittersweet. And just because he told me to, I'm going to have a great day! :)

"There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again." ~Elizabeth Lawrence

"Life is a matter of passing the time enjoyably. There may be other things in life, but I've been too busy passing my time enjoyably to think very deeply about them."
- Peter Cook