Was talking to Trisha this morning (her daughter Alex turned 13 today! My god…really??) and we were both teary eyed over how fast the time seems to be whizzing by now. WHY oh why does the first five years with our tiny kids go by SO slowly?? It seems like torture…we are constantly thinking about how ‘it will just be better when they’re 2…when they’re 3….oh….didn’t anyone tell you about the f*cking FOURS?!? Oh when they’re in Kindergarten you’ll FINALLY get half a day to yourself….but in FIRST grade, you will get the whole DAY…’
And now, here we stand, with one teenager, and four tweens living with us. And the time seems to be escaping us. It’s going way too fast, and we can’t help but feel melancholy about it. Our kids are excited to move forward, to get older, to do more on their own. And we agree that our purpose as parents is to give them the wings to fly. But damn….this is waaaay harder than we could have anticipated. We’re finding ourselves saying the things we know we shouldn’t to them….”I don’t want you to get any older…why do have to grow up so fast?”
It’s a cruel, cruel reality of motherhood that no one prepares you for. The irony of it all….the years you spend wishing they were self sufficient, just a little older…will come back around to bite you in the ass. And all of a sudden, you understand those weird grandmas in the supermarket who looked at your sleep-deprived face and nearly cried on top of your cranky baby, lamenting with tears in their eyes that they would give an arm to have just one sleepless night with their newborn again.
We get it now.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I am deeply skeptical.
I totally agree! I also get now why totally normal women go all “mormon” sometimes and keep having babies (or have a very late in life baby). No matter how hard the early years are and how much we all could use a break once in a while, no one ever wants to say good-bye to that pair of little chubby arms hugging our necks.
Holly,
Well put! I was THRILLED the other day when my 10 year old boy told his playdate’s mom that he’d come back for a sleepover…’but only if I can bring Doggy (his 9 year-old stuffed animal). XO
That thought makes my heart hurt. I’m in the middle of it all- from a 12-year old down to a 2-year old. I appreciate you opening my eyes to this.
So true I have a 7, 3 an 1 year old. Life can be very crazy with young kids and i often think about the day when I can eat my dinner without feeding someone else. I have to remind myself that these are days I will greatly miss when they are independent!
I am just not there. I LOVE being a mom, twin girls 7 months old and pregnant with our third. However, I do look forward to the fact that they will all go away to college at the same time! (I’m half joking) I appreciate every moment with them, maybe one day I will be able to relate to your feelings, just a long way to go!