Do you ever have those moments where you get hit with an epiphany about life? A moment where you feel blindsided by how your kids have grown, where they are in life, where you are in life, and all you can do is just . . . stand still (and hope that time will stand still with you)?
I had about three of these moments the other week where I realized my babies, aren’t really “babies” anymore. Here’s the scenarios that occurred which let me know we truly are moving into a different stage of life . . . whether I’m ready or not.
Accident-Free Potty Training Day
My youngest is nearly 3 years old. Potty training is a slow process, mostly by design. I am not cut out for three day boot camps. Neither are my kids. But last week we had a good day. He’s my third kid, so I know for a fact we will not be in diapers forever (or even pull ups which is the stage in life we are now). He might finish potty training faster if I fully committed to underwear, but I’m doing enough laundry right now and I just don’t wanna. Last week, though, he went on his own, both number one and number two. A great day. One day soon I can cancel my Amazon subscribe and save!
Spring Cleaning Involved More Than a Dustpan and Mop
I’m a full time working mom, so when I take a relatively random day off, it’s rarely for any glamorous purpose (usually it’s dentists appointments). Last week, I used a precious PTO day to do spring cleaning. I tossed out a bunch of “baby” toys, like O-balls, teething rings and other random bits and pieces of who-knows-what, to make room for the big kid items like Legos, dolls with diapers and trains.
I moved our cable console and Blu-Ray player out of their purgatory on a high shelf to a much more logical and sensible location on top of the console under the TV. It’s back within reach of small fingers, but now those fingers actually know how to operate both devices. Sometimes better than I do.
Bedtime Didn’t Require as Much From Mom or Dad
Since our children were born, we have always laid with them to sleep. I either nursed them down during the breastfeeding months (or years, as the case may be), or either my husband or I would lay in bed with a kid or two (or sometimes three), until they each drifted off to dreamland.
Necessity is often the driver of change. We broke the bottom bunk of the twin-over-full bed our kids shared (or maybe the toddler was jumping on it too much – hard to say). So, it became necessary to remove the bottom bunk all together and make an adjustment. There was still enough room under the twin bed to slide the full size mattress, but not really enough headspace for my grown-up body to be comfortable. So for the first time ever, I laid next to the bed as sibling squabbling turned to soft whispers about things both ridiculous and sweet, which eventually morphed into a concert of gentle snores from the peanut gallery. As I quietly tiptoed out, I both celebrated my freedom, and mourned the lack of snuggle time.
Each of these moments reminded me that we are slowly taking baby steps away from the baby years. Soon there will be no more diapers. No more baby toys. No more cuddles. Just lots of underwear, toys that need instructions (and youTube) and I’ll be grateful just for a hug.
The transition is a good thing. I know they can’t stay babies forever. It’s a season in life I know well – with closely spaced kids, I’ve been “here” in the baby years for going on seven years now. I’m ready to be done with diapers. Ready to move on to board games and big kid adventures. Ready to begin the next chapter of our lives.
But I’m going to miss this.