You're Gonna Miss This

In the course of a long summer I will admit that I have had my days where I genuinely thought my children were going to make me lose my mind.  Because, mixed in with all the fun, there were days where everyone was whining .  And sometimes it was like pulling teeth to get them to do their jobs. And there were other "incidents".  Here is a little sampling of what I'm referring to:

1. My patio is currently covered in dirt due to a spontaneous digging project that my son did yesterday which, he informed me, was "easy to dig but hard to clean up". 

2. There was that recently removed wet diaper that someone decided to throw across the room just to see what would happened (just so you know, very wet diapers WILL EXPLODE and the room will be filled with absorbent little crystals that the children referred to as "white poop") SIGH. 

3.And then there was the day that my son was sent to the bathroom to clean it up and was found fifteen minutes later "iceskating" on the bathroom floor.  How is that done?  Well, you just dump out a bottle of shampoo, spread it all all over the floor, and you're good to go.  

And that's just one of the kids...there's more.

There were times when I wondered if I was going to make it another 18+ years until they all reach adulthood.  I was beginning to feel like running away.  Then, last night, I went on a real live out of the house date with my husband.  We spent hours doing whatever we pleased.  It was so quiet and easy.  I loved every minute of it.  And when I got home all my little ones were asleep.  So it was more quiet time.

Today was Saturday.  I woke up to my four year old crawling into my bed with his stuffed dog.  A few minutes later my girls joined us.  We laughed and snuggled until everyone agreed that it was time for breakfast.  Then we made pancakes and smothered them in blueberries.  Our house was filled with our favorite music playing on the speakers and we danced.  Three little messy haired, pajama laden, blueberry stained kids holding my hands and spinning around on the floor.  And if we ever slowed down my toddler would squeel "let's dance!"  And I thought about last night.  It was so quiet and lovely.  But oh how I loved the lack of quiet this morning. 

And I was reminded once again that all those moments where I think I'm going to seriously lose my sanity are part of the journey.  It makes the sweet moments even sweeter.  And someday, I will miss nearly all of it. (OK, maybe not the exploded diaper on the carpet) but maybe even those things too.  Because all the craziness means that my house is full of people who I love, who love me, and we are all learning together. 

So today I will vow again to enjoy it all and be more patient with the little stuff....it's life in the making.  And, I wondered if you would share with me the moments that you love about having kids.  Something funny, something sweet, all the good stuff that makes it worth it.  I'll start. I love the way my kids look in their pajamas. I love holding a tiny hand on a walk and I love the goofy faces they make when I try to take their pictures.  I love reading stories and seeing their eyes twinkle with excitement.  I love they way they laugh...all of them...that  unrestrained belly laugh that they do when they find some silly thing uncontrollably funny. I love to hear them pray.  I love the way they love me.

Someday when they are all grown up what will you miss? Leave me a comment!