Time is passing all too quickly and my boys are growing up. The little guys are 5 now, while the older ones just celebrated their 10th birthday this week. (Happy Birthday again, sweeties.) It suddenly hit me the other day: I don’t have little kids anymore. They are all properly trained and certified in bathroom usage techniques, everyone is able to pour their own beverage at mealtime should they be so motivated, and oh! they all dress themselves daily. And make their own beds. They’ve even surprised me lately by helping out with chores that are typically mine.
I’m enjoying their independence, along with all the new things we can do as a family like dining out, seeing movies, shopping, and travel. Just last month all 4 boys went to the butterfly gardens with me and their grandparents and had an amazing time. I’ve never seen them more engaged; it was the best educational field trip we’ve taken so far.
At the same time, I’m not the mother of babies or toddlers anymore.
I think parenting is, among other things, a study in contrasts. The one thing you can count on to stay the same in this journey is all the change you will encounter. What a strange experience, to rejoice in their growth and successes yet mourn the passing of so many adorable tricks and traits. With the passing of each season I understand more clearly the saying “It all goes by too fast”.
I want to preserve as many memories as I can, and more importantly I want to make good memories with them. What do you do for preservation? Pictures? Video? Journals? What about memory creation? Do you have special traditions or activities you do as a family that you hope your kids will consider warmly and repeat when they are parents themselves?
by AmyL
Photo graciously provided by kk+, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
6 responses so far ↓
Tere // May 30, 2008 at 6:58 am
Great post. I think about this a lot. I look forward to being able to do more things with my son, to the ways in which I’ll be able to engage him and he’ll learn new things. At the same time, I know I’ll miss my baby. Even now, I miss my baby, and he’s still a toddler! lol I agree that it is indeed a study in contrasts.
InTheFastLane // May 30, 2008 at 9:47 am
And then…the become teenagers…duh, duh, dum….
Really though, I think it is amazing the traditions that my kids hold onto, even things that I don’t think they are even cognizant of, but then they mention when it isn’t done “right.” Pictures, videos, my blog…that is how I keep memories. But, it is amazing how much is just written into a families minds and hearts.
AmyL // Jun 1, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Hi Tere, what traditions do you look forward to sharing with your son?
InTheFastLane: Ay yi yi….teenagers. The older boys are officially “tweens” now. I’ve been particularly awful at picture taking, although I find myself taking many more now that I have the blog. I love your point about love being written into a child’s heart and mind.
They Grow Too Fast - Earnest Parenting // Jun 2, 2008 at 10:38 pm
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Doris M // Jun 4, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Sigh… where did the time go? I used to think it was so cliche to say that but now I get it! It really does go by fast. I’ve been enjoying getting to know their personalities more as they grow, though. I think we change so much as parents as they change too. We have to in order to keep up!
AmyL // Jun 13, 2008 at 7:36 am
Hi Doris. The thing that rattles me just a bit is that I know how to deal with them as they are now. Tomorrow is looming large though, and they’re going to be different. Will I keep up?
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