Steve, as I mentioned, has been out of town this weekend. It does sometimes strike me that things move more smoothly when it is just me, but I think I can chalk that up to me just turning into Task-Master out of necessity during my flying-solo days.
Last night, after a napless afternoon, Chris went down just before 8pm. This is remarkably early for him - he has this fervent desire to keep up with his brothers, regardless of how exhausted he is. The total and complete adoration he has for them is palpable.
So there I was last night, going from room to room, tucking in kids. Two things struck me; the first is how totally and completely I adore these kids. It is so easy to get wrapped up in my "Power Manager" role; Are your teeth clean, did you use the bathroom, are your clothes picked out for tomorrow, did you finish your homework, are your dirty clothes in the basket, is your backpack ready, pick that up, put that away, stop playing ball in the house, just give that to your brother already so he stops screaming, did you eat enough.... It is frightfully easy to overlook WHY I go through that tirade day in and day out - These kids are amazing, and I have been blessed with the opportunity to spend time with them for a little while.
The second thing that struck me is time-honored. I know that nearly 9 years have gone by since I was pregnant with Parker, but it so easily could be just a mere few months ago that it makes my head spin. And what frightens me is that I fear I will go to sleep one night and wake up to them all being grown and out of the house and I will have missed it - the ball games, the slumber parties, the sight of all three of them snuggled down in one bed for the night, holding each other like teddy bears, the sound of laughter and screaming and thunderous footsteps that I fear may just break through the floorboards one day. It is all just going by so fast.
Parker hit a grand-slam homerun last night at his baseball game. It was an amazing site to see - this little kid smacking the snot out of the ball and watching it go flying over the players' and coaches' heads and the cheers from both teams at this amazing shot, and me, cheering louder than the rest, thinking "yeah, that's my kid!"
A few years ago, when I was knee deep in poopy diapers, toddlers and babies who refused to sleep, Steve sat back and reminded me to enjoy these times because when we are old we will think "these were the good ole' days". And he was right... So, take a moment to stop amid the chaos to take it all in, because for all of us, these ARE the good ole' days.
No comments:
Post a Comment