A Mother's Monday Muse

Many times, I think that mothers wonder if their children will ever grow up. I know that for mothers with young children, those "empty nest" years seem so far away. When we have toddlers and preschoolers, mothering is a 24/7 job. Mothering is always a 24/7 job, but when tots are that little, that job is much more "hands on." A full night's sleep isn't even a guarantee!
Now that my youngest is five, I officially have all school-aged children. This change sneaks up on you, gradually, but today was one of those days that my new season of life smacked me in the face--In a good way. (I am reading blogs of my friends', where optimism seems to be the theme of the day, so I am going to continue in that spirit.)

I started the morning by driving my two oldest children and some of their friends to summer camp. This will be the third year for my oldest, and the first year for her brother. Upon registration, we discovered that my daughter is not in the same cabin with some of her friends from last year. She took it COMPLETELY in stride. I am not sure that at her age, I would have handled it nearly as well. My son allowed me to help him set up his "stuff" in his cabin and then was like, "Bye, Mom!" I don't know what I was expecting. A little separation anxiety, maybe?? I left the camp after settling them in feeling a little bit empty. It was going to be weird at home without them. One child gone is one thing, but two? And it is my two oldest. The ones who give me the most help around the house.

I am now in a place where I can leave for a little bit, and my older children can watch the younger ones. For this week, I am back to loading everyone in the car to run an errand. Which I did this afternoon. It was so enjoyable! I really got to converse with my younger children, and I realized how grown-up they are becoming.

Our children have a paper route (My husband is an old-school farm boy who believes that kids should start being responsible for a job as soon as they are able). This is our third summer of doing it, and in the past, I have always dreaded camp week. It required me to lug out the bike trailer, load up my preschooler, and supervise paper delivery, since my oldest was gone. This time, my 7 and 5 year-old rolled their fair share of the papers, hopped onto their bikes and took off. They supervised me, telling me what houses to do, and how I could help them. I was struck, again, by how fast they are growing, and what they are capable of.

I remember being in the thick of preschoolers and babyhood and having well-meaning elderly people say to me, "Don't you just LOVE this, aren't they such a BLESSING? Treasure these days, because they will be gone before you know it." I seriously wondered if those women even remembered raising kids. Yes, I loved them; yes, they were a blessing, but it was really hard to treasure those days when I wasn't getting a full night's sleep, when my child wouldn't sit quietly in church, when I was in the thick of potty-training, etc. etc.

Today I am in a great place. I still remember having tiny children, so that I don't candy coat how hard and difficult that stage of life can be. To my friends who are in the thick of those years--keep up the great work. What you are doing is selfless and difficult, and I am proud of you. But I will also tell you that those well-meaning elderly folks are right. It does go by quickly. And the next season is just as good!!

I'd better end, as my five-year-old just came in, crying. She went for a "bike ride" down the street and took a spill, and needs some TLC. I guess I'm not quite done with my "mom" job, yet!