GROWN AND GONE

Happy New Year! There’s just something about having children that sure makes the days and years fly by, huh? I remember as a young mom, back when I had only three children and was just starting out on this homeschool journey, I had many older moms tell me to really soak in the times I have with my little ones because BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THEY WILL BE GROWN AND GONE. Honestly, at the time, all I could think of was, WOW CRAZY LADY, I SURE COULD USE A LITTLE GROWN AND GONE RIGHT ABOUT NOW. Raising children was hard enough, but to teach them at home too? Some days it felt impossible. Would they ever learn not to poop on the floor (when they have a perfectly good brightly colored plastic potty chair) at the exact time my mommy and me class showed up at my house? Would I ever not have a peanut butter handprint collage on my be-hind (to be discovered only after getting home from co-op class with the ALWAYS FLAWLESSLY PUT-TOGETHER super moms)?

But then I blinked, and those original three are in college, one has a baby of her own who now poops on her floor. Another of my babies is about to start college classes as a dual enrolled high school junior, and three more are high school age. Yes, the crazy older moms were right. Time sure flies when you’re having fun with kids.

We made it through potty training, and they eventually learned to wipe their sticky peanut butter hands on their own clothes. They learned their math facts and how to read and write. They learned to be compassionate to one another and fight for what is real and true. They learned that mom isn’t perfect but loves them and always wants the best for them. Yup, I survived those early years and they did too. And we flourished. And my ‘job’ with them is winding down and they are flexing their wings and are flying their own path. And now, I am THAT crazy lady MOM singing the same song: BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THEY WILL BE GROWN AND GONE. Soak in these times, mamas.

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