Mamas of Littles...Take Heart!

I ran across my daughter's baby book this morning while trying to empty a cabinet. I paused in my decluttering to look through the book, and the words I had scrawled eight years ago brought back the memories of the countless and seemingly unending hours of nursing, rocking, changing diapers - the hours I swore would never end for me, even though evidence around the world is quite contrary to my thinking at the time.

Mamas of littles, take heart! I just finished a 30-minute Haitian Creole lesson, completely uninterrupted, as my daughter sat in the other room and entertained herself.

The babies, they DO grow up. As one of my sweet friend has reminded me in the past, "The days are long but the years are short." I can hardly believe I am here with an eight-year-old daughter and five-year-old son (who will be starting kindergarten in the fall!). Cannot even believe it. They open their own car doors (and I don't worry about them smashing their fingers). They get into the car all by themselves! They buckle themselves into their seats! And it is GLORIOUS. All I have to do now is unlock the car doors for them.

Mamas of littles, take heart! You won't be having to load them into the car and buckle them into their seats forever. They really do become self-sufficient, and sooner than you might think.

I have taught my kids to put their clothing in the laundry room. Ideally, it ends up in the color-coded baskets next to the machines. We don't live in an ideal world, and I find socks in the cracks of the couch frequently, but sometimes I am surprised by the lack of clothing lying in the living room floor.

My littles are not so little any more. I'm constantly amazed at what they can accomplish. I am fascinated by how their little minds work. We have the most interesting conversations these days. They know my expectations of them and generally speaking, aim to meet them (treat others kindly, have a servant's heart and help others both when asked and sometimes even when not).

I know these years will be gone in a flash. My husband and I just celebrated ten years of marriage this past August. It has gone by so quickly. In ten years, my firstborn daughter will be graduating from high school and moving on to the next chapter in her life. I can hardly stand to think of it.

Mamas of littles, take heart! The babies do grow up. You won't be changing diapers, wiping noses and hinies and little hands forever. I know it feels that way. I swore my children would never grow up. Oh how wrong I was!