Thursday, May 17, 2012

The End of an Era

I have been becoming more and more aware lately that my little kids are growing up and I am on the verge of not having any little kids anymore.  And I can do nothing to stop it. 

Part of that is probably due to the fact that my youngest will start kindergarten in the fall.  And then I'll be all alone.  I was trying to explain it to my husband the other night.  For the past almost 10 years, my life, my job, has been about caring for at least one little one here at our home.  10 years is a pretty long time to have one job.  I've never had any other job that has lasted that long (neither has my husband for that matter).  And in just 2-1/2 short months, my job will be changing.  I'm not sure what it will entail, but I know it'll be different.  And they will be different. 

I feel like I am living that Subaru commercial where the dad leans in the car window to give, what we first see as a little girl, maybe 4 or 5, the car keys and instructs her on how to drive safely. Then they cut to the next frame and you see that the little girl is actually a teen ager and that the little girl is just how the dad still thinks of his daughter, illustrating how fast they grow up.

Today, my youngest graduated from preschool.  She's done with little kid school.  In the fall is big kid school.  I don't know what I'm going to do when she graduates from real school!!



They will all be big kids.  I know some of you with teens are probably laughing at me because comparatively speaking, mine are still little. But they are not little like they used to be.  They are not babies.  They don't need me like they used to.  Only one still calls me "mommy."  My oldest (who is only finishing up 3rd grade) has already set out "guidelines" of things I can do in public and things I cannot.  I try to respect these guidelines.  Right now she still wants me around, I just have to try to make sure we can keep it that way.  At least 2 out of the 3 will still hold my hand.

So, for now, I am trying to cherish the little things, like the way my 4 year old likes to tell me the same stories over and over again that make no sense and how my 7 year old literally races into a room when she has something to say, or how my 9 year old talks nonstop even when it seems obvious to me that I can't possibly hear her, she's still talking.   And how every time I leave the house, even if it's just for an hour long exercise class, they all want "huggies" before I go.  So, I'm try to cherish these things from my little ones... while I still can and hope that somehow, a little bit of this will last forever.

And no, this is not enough to make me want to have another baby. 

My 4 year old (in the middle) with 2 of her good friends from preschool and church at their school graduation party.

3 comments:

  1. It was good for me to read this today...I'm relatively overwhelmed by the needs of little ones right now. I know in my head it won't always be this way, and part of me will probably want it back when it passes. Praying we can both embrace the joys of where we are right now.

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    1. Glad to help, Brea. There are plenty of days, though, when I don't appreciate our stage in life. Once they start school it does help to put it into perspective. Just yesterday, my oldest was about to start kindergarten. Now, she's finishing up 3rd grade!!

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  2. As I read your blog I remember the day when I walked Marie into kindergarten and then cried all the way to my office. It is a hard day, but as I look back, my advice would be to enjoy every moment of every day with them because it does pass so quickly. There are still moments when my three college kids need me-they are fewer and far between, but are just as sweet as when they were little. Congratulations to Leigh Ann- I know she is excited to graduate and go to big kid school-and congratulations to you-you are a great MOM and have wonderful children!
    Sue Mitchell

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