I Don't Miss It

Circa 1997 My hands were full 
"They grow up so fast, in the blink of an eye," they said. I still resent those people who said it would go by so fast and I should cherish them while they are still young. Really? I had six kids under the age of 11 at one point, there was very little about my life that I cherished except maybe date night without the kids.

Cherish the stinky diapers, the vomit, the bed wetting, the whining, the dirty laundry that truly never ended, the sticky kitchen floor and towels dropped on the linoleum in the bathroom? Let's not forget the nausea, sciatica and discomfort of being pregnant for so many years and then having a baby stuck to my boob 24/7 for sustenance. What about those comatose days because the baby didn't sleep well during the night but the toddler was up at 6am as usual. Yeah...I don't think so.
Circa 2003 Survival Mode
Life is now way more fast paced than I could have envisioned and I'm seeing that I missed out on hugging my children more and telling them how much I love them. I might not have read to them as much as I wanted to or even cuddled them and tucked them in at night as often as I should have.  My older children may think it strange to encounter so much hugging from me since the first 14+ years of motherhood were sparse in the hugging category. Let's face it, I'm not a touchy feely person and I didn't make a big enough effort. I think I did other things that showed my kids how much I loved them though so I don't have any guilt. Survival mode is just what it sounds like.

My kids do things I like to do now, like football and basketball games, movies and restaurants that don't have a drive-thru. We cook together at home without making serious messes that result in my frustration in having to clean it up by myself. Sitting at the dinner table is enjoyable since I don't have six plates of meat to cut up and portion out. We talk about our day and laugh and make memories. Even though we still have two "babies," I have older kids to help out when I need another set of hands or free babysitting.
We all survived. Photo taken April 2013, oldest son on a mission
Nope, I don't miss those days at all. But I am cherishing the ones right now because I am truly happy being a mom at this stage. That is of course, until next month when my babies leave the nest...


Comments

  1. Valerie IpsonDecember 2, 2013 at 10:34 PM

    Story of my life...

    ReplyDelete
  2. TamaraDecember 3, 2013 at 7:56 AM

    Yeah, I don't miss the sleep deprivation at. all. I'm glad I'm not the only mom who gives hugs to her older kids. Love the family pictures.

    ReplyDelete

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