Stop waiting for tomorrow

Don't ever tell yourself, your kids, your spouse that you "Can't wait" for this stage, this age, to be over. That you can't wait for them to learn or do this or that. Because you can wait. It will happen all too fast.

There are a lot of areas which I need to improve upon as a parent. The top-most on this list is that I need to spend more time with my kids. I can justify the way I spend my time ad infinitum. But really, that doesn't matter. What matters most is that my kids are growing up fast. Too fast.

My oldest is five. FIVE! How did that happen? Next fall, she will be starting kindergarten, and I am already sad about those days that I will not have with her. I am already missing her. I don't want that day to come.

My son is three! My snuggly baby can jump with two feet, talk in full sentences, dress himself, and pee standing up! He goes to school three days a week, and though I love having a little extra time while my "big" kids are at extended day on Mondays, I miss him the entire time he is gone.

                                         

My little girl is TWO! She can do everything "all by herself." She wants to be just like the big kids, and is growing up too fast. Next year, she will be in school one day a week. She wants to go this year, and tries to stay with her siblings when we take them to school. I don't want her to go to school, but I know that it is what is best for her.

My baby is 6 months. Thank goodness for my little buddy, who will hang out with me while the "big" kids are gone next year. But my baby! He has gotten so big! He can inchworm around on his belly, and is rocking on his hands and knees, ready to crawl. He sleeps all night by himself, eats oatmeal, and is learning to sit up.

                             
Every day I want to scream at them, SLOW DOWN! Stop growing up! Be my babies forever!
Yes, I love every stage. Yes, they get more fun as they get older, and can do more things. Yes, there are things I hate about babyhood- the diapers, the mess, the pacifiers, the bottles, the laundry, the night time waking. But I would never rush them through it. Because no matter how long it lasts, it doesn't last forever. No matter how many kids you have, you have to let them grow up. You have to let them go.

The reality is, no matter how much time I spend with my kids, it is gone too fast. And one day soon, I will miss it all. I already miss the newborn stage, as I watch my baby explore his world. Do I miss the midnight feedings? The crying? The spit-up? The mountains of bottles? In a sense, yes. Because I miss having a BABY.

Every time I catch myself thinking "I can't wait until..." I stop myself. And I say "I look forward to..." instead. Because I won't ever hurry my kids into growing up. Childhood is not long enough, which means parenthood is not long enough, either.