I’m just home from an amazing time at the Bliss & Bokeh retreat. It was so awesome to walk in the door to three little kiddos, all so excited to see me. As I rocked Charley to sleep last night, my heart was happy. A cuddly baby in my arms, sweet little boys downstairs playing trains–the kind of moments you want to freeze. And then a thought crept into my mind: babies don’t keep.
I’m not going to lie: I’m exhausted more days than not. My head gladly hits the pillow at 8:30 every night. If I stay up past 9:00, it’s normally only because I snagged a nap in the afternoon, or I have a deadline to meet. In the middle of that exhaustion, it’s so easy to wish that my babies were older. It’s easy to wish that they were all potty-trained, and polite, and knew how to wash their hands without being reminded. But babies don’t keep.
Sweet, cuddly, rocking chair moments have to be savored while I’m exhausted. Teaching has to be done while I’m drained. Reprimanding has to be done in love, even if I feel like I’m on that last mommy straw. Pictures have to be taken, NOW, because life is short, and precious, and babies don’t keep.
My prayer for myself, and all you mamas out there is that you’ll be blessed with the grace, strength, motivation, energy, and patience to love on those little ones every minute that you can. All too soon, they’ll be off to school, and those long, exhausted moments of patience being tried and willpower being tested will be gone.
Such a sweet reminder.Thank you, Whitney! I came home to my little two year old baby who while I was gone must have grown ten inches and walks and talks like she’s four already. This is so true. Enjoy them! Missing you already!
Thank you Whitney, this made me teary. Some days make it hard to be creative with a little person constantly chattering in your ear as they repeat every word that they have ever heard. Then on the days you get to dedicate to your work can leave you missing key moments in their lives, like my little girl finally riding a bike without training wheels (which I got to watch on my iPhone). As I watch my last little baby grow into a rambunctious little boy, my eldest boy is preparing for his last year of high school next year and my little girl is devouring books faster than she devours a chocolate chip cookie. Thank you for reminding me how short our time is together before they no longer want to give me a cuddle and kiss every 15 minutes.
It is so true, Whitney. I find myself breathing in every ounce of littleness left in my “all grown-up” seven year olds. Because, before you know it, that time is gone. Way, way too fast. On the other hand, I’ve also learned that “bigger kids mean bigger problems.” I surprise myself by longing for the times when they were littler … not potty-trained, not talking, not dealing with what-becomes-all-too-soon the realities of school and friendships and hurt feelings. And then I remind myself how hard that time was, too. What I come back around to is this: Being a parent doesn’t get easier; it just gets different. Thank you for your insight!
xo,
Traci
I hear you! My girls are 11 and 7 years old and the other night my baby told me (while I was tucking her into bed) that she wished she was 4 again and after asking her why she said, “because if I was 4 again I can stay with you all day”. The truth is that she is growing up, but so am I and I am very blessed and thankful for that. She goes to school and I work on trying me best to build a business for them, for us.