Enjoy Them While They’re Young

Enjoy Them While They’re Young

On Saturday, my husband and I left our house a mess and took the girls to the fall festival in town. The cool breeze stripped a few leaves off the trees and sent them scuttling down the sidewalk as we walked from booth to booth: letting the girls paint rocks, color, make finger puppets from Play-Doh.

The girls wanted to play on the bouncy houses, so I bought tickets and helped my three-year-old take off her shoes.

My five-year-old entered the bouncy house first, climbing and pulling herself through an obstacle course. Last year, exactly a year ago, I had to help her every step of the way, but as I stood back and watched her scaling the wall—holding on to the rope and expertly placing her feet—tears flooded my eyes.

This is motherhood, I thought. This is why I wake up three times at night to soothe a crying baby, or why I go eat lunch at school with a kindergartner who throws up but then is miraculously fine at home, or why I read the same book to my children over and over and over again….

Motherhood is a constant pouring out, and honestly, at this stage, there are not many opportunities to get filled back up. But halfway through the festival, we talked to a pastor we first met nine years ago. I was just about to ask if he had any new babies–for I remembered he had five little ones–when he said, “My eldest just joined the Marines; my second eldest is getting married.” He shook his head and smiled. “I’m telling ya, enjoy them while they’re young.”

Nine years, in childhood, apparently changes quite a bit.

Before we headed home, my husband and I took the girls for drinks at the coffee shop. We were there for five minutes when I noticed my three-month-old had a mysterious wet spot on her pants. The bathrooms were occupied, so I went to the back of the shop and changed her on the floor (classy, right?).

I returned to our table, and my husband and the girls were waiting for me outside. I straightened up the chairs and tried to get the baby strapped into the carrier. She was wearing a slobbery shirt, a diaper, and socks. Her wet pants were on the table. I was so focused on getting her loaded and getting home that I didn’t realize how harried I must look until I happened to glance over at a table of college students, who were all watching me with something akin to horror in their eyes.

It was one of those moments when you either laugh or cry, so I chose (this time, at least) to laugh. I said, “Just you wait, it’s great fun!”

Nine years ago, I was in college, and I never imagined I would be juggling everything I am juggling right now, but the beauty is in those moments: those moments when your incredibly shy five-year-old, who once struggled with coordination, is talking to strangers and scaling her way up a wall without once looking down. This is motherhood. This is the reason I wake up; it’s also the reason I go to bed early. But one day that, too, will change, so I’m going to enjoy my girls while they’re young.

How are you going to enjoy your children today?

On another note, my best friend and her husband are struggling to repair their home after it experienced massive flooding due to the storm associated with Hurricane Harvey. To learn more about their story, you can follow this link: https://www.gofundme.com/help-misty-and-justin-after-flood