As the year 2012 comes to a close, I marvel at how quickly time flies. I realize - with a lot more sadness than I expected - that we are officially leaving behind a stage of life that we have been in for 8 1/2 years....we no longer have an infant or toddler in the house. I dreamed of this time in our life and often felt we would never get to a place without diapers or my ever-present diaper bag. I remember saying, "The days are long and the years are short". These words were truer than I could've imagined since we are now officially in the "childhood stage". The stage of life where everyone can use regular cups, manage the restroom (mostly) alone and - given enough soap in the water - get relatively clean at bath time!
Here are a few thoughts on what I will miss from the infant/toddler stage:
1. Dressing them in whatever clothes I select. They never complained as infants or young toddlers as to what I dressed them in. Now I have 3 different kids with varying tastes, styles and ideas as to what "weather appropriate" means. I also have a ton of laundry from sending children back up to "try again" and finding that they simply discard the rejected outfit into the hamper...
2. Stuff they "need". Now this one caught me completely off-guard! When they are babies/toddlers, everything they need for an outing fits in a diaper bag. If you tend to be extra-prepared, you can even keep a back-up diaper bag in the car. Now the things they "need" for a quick trip to the store leaves little room for the actual groceries we went to get. We constantly look like the "Grapes of Wrath" as we toodle around town. I am often embarrassed as kids open the doors to get out and at least two toys or books tumble to the ground before the kids do. No one prepared me for how much stuff can (and will!) accompany an able-bodied kid.
3. The neatness of my house. Again, I have been surprised at something I thought would get better once the people under my command could understand my words... When babies are little, your messes are of tiny laundry to be folded, or extra blankets from a feeding or spit up. Toddlers take stuff out, but you can clean their messes up in a few quick minutes. Kids literally destroy every single room! They help themselves to snacks and leave everything a wreck; poured the cereal in the pantry (thus the crunchy mess on the floor), poured the milk in the kitchen (check the counter, floor and fridge door that's still open) and then eat it in the breakfast room (if you're lucky!). Then they are off to leave evidence of every single move they make throughout the day. I marvel at the state of my house on a daily basis. I would consider it impressive if it didn't require so much effort on my part!
But that's about all I will miss from the baby stage we are bidding goodbye to. I have paid my dues in my fair share of sleepless nights, worrying about every vaccination/food/new rule, etc. I am looking forward to so many of the wonderful and fun and exciting things I know we are in store for in this new stage. The creativity and excitement that three spirited kiddos bring keeps me on my toes. The plays, art shows, dog shows, concerts, dance contests and even board games keep our evenings active. And - dare I think it - the possibility of family vacations??? Are we finally coming of age that the idea of Disney World can become a reality??? WOW! We got to this point faster than I never thought we would...
I am looking forward to this new year because it has so many exciting changes in store! Gone are my ideals of a clean and orderly house, children who do their "chores" and put their little foil stars to mark it done. Instead, I have decided on a good enough house (it'll be back to perfect in a few short years anyway), chores are now called "blessings" and we choose them from popping balloons and finding out what age-appropriate responsibility we get to take care of during the next month, and we have decided to choose people over projects for this upcoming year. I now realize that I cannot slow life down, but I can make it more meaningful for us in how we spend our time. My New Year's Resolution can be summed up in a few words...Show Love and Have Fun! I think if we do this every day, then we are making an eternal impact in the lives of those around us. And that is ultimately my goal for 2013. Happy New Year!!!
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