The month of May started several days ago. The school year is ending. Yet it feels like there is soooo much to do in the next few weeks before it’s officially summer break. There’s a school alphabet countdown, soccer practices, soccer games, birthday parties, and squeezing in lunches with friends before school is out. I’m on the brink of transition.
As the 2022-2023 school year winds down; it’s a new season – spring and life are changing yet again. My youngest is potty trained – at least during the day. If you’re looking for me, you can find me driving around town doing errands (like going to the grocery store for the fourth time in a week. I tend to inevitably forget SOMETHING.), driving to a doctor’s appointment – usually unexpected for one of my kids, or hosting my kids’ friends at my house. I check on them periodically, but they usually just find me for snacks. I’ve also been intentional in spending quality time with my friends before school’s out. We could still get together with our kids but there would be a lot more “Mom… Mom… Mom…”.
Like most seasons, I’m not exactly sure how I got here. As every parent will tell you, kids grow up entirely too fast. You don’t remember the last diaper you changed. It just kind of naturally happens and man am I grateful. I’ve had an 8-year tenure of changing diapers and I don’t miss it. To be honest, I don’t have baby fever at ALL. My heart is so full of love for my trio. I love the individuals they are becoming and the lives and interests they are developing outside of me.
Last week, I recycled the last car seat we owned. When I got it out and got ready to turn it in, I got a little teary. Not because I want another child. I DO NOT. I love sleeping through the night, I don’t miss diapers or breastfeeding. Babies are precious. The snuggles, their squishy adorableness, that smell but also they are a lot of work. I got sad because I can never go back to that time. The tiring time of having little kids and hauling around a baby in a car seat. That beautifully exhausting season is over and it’s not coming back. What felt like it would never end has.
Those babies are full-blown kids. I love the age of all my kids right now. They are more independent and sometimes I can just sit and watch them play. They are big enough to get their snacks, but they will still sing silly songs with me and like hugs. We can watch more movies as a family. We don’t need a stroller to go out. Our days are no longer interrupted by nap time. I’m also so proud of the humans they are becoming.
Parenting is a trip. So many emotions can be true at once. I can love my kids as they are right now and miss their min-selves from time to time. Oh, to smell their little heads, kiss those chubby cheeks, and snuggle them for an hour. That’s the past though. Right now I’m grateful for my kids and this season of life. I’m ready to embrace all that is the summer and this stage of parenting.