My kids are growing up. You hear about these things when you’re a parent. The moments where our children remind us of the fleeting time of their childhood. It manifests itself in different ways. It’s not always a change in their physical appearance- like when my daughter reminds me often of the fact that she’s almost taller than me {she’s not}. Or the fact that my son suddenly jumped two shoe sizes.
This is different.
Since we see our kids every day, it’s sometimes hard to notice the intricate and not-so-glaringly obvious details about them that let us know they are getting big. Recently, it’s been a change in my kid’s maturity that has gotten me all in my feels. All of a sudden, my daughter is composing herself like a grown girl, my son taught himself a new trick, and the baby’s daily routine changed a little bit.
See, nothing major here.
I know I’m not alone in these feelings- I’m sure most parents can relate to this push and pull feeling that I’m experiencing.
The Grown Girl
My daughter has had quite an eventful first-grade year. We’ve had victories and setbacks. Gains and losses. Her strength and resilience to the things she’s had to work through makes me so proud of her.
I’ve decided I like age 7. She still has her innocence, but her awareness of the world around her is growing big and her willingness to be independent and do things for herself has been so fun to watch. It makes me smile seeing her act so mature.
And lately, she and I have had some pertinent heart to hearts. It’s been special and necessary. Sometimes tough. I hope she never stops talking to me and asking me questions. I have a feeling it’s these conversations that will carry us through until her adulthood.
The Talented Boy
Yesterday my almost-five-year-old son taught himself how to play a song on his keyboard from a YouTube video. Out of nowhere, he found a song from Sing 2, and within an hour he could play the whole song. We’ve been trying to encourage and foster his love of music, so this felt like a big deal. He was proud of himself.
After he performed the song for us on his keyboard, my husband and I walked into our kitchen. He asked if I noticed him getting teary-eyed during his “performance.” He had a moment. And with tears rolling into his eyes, he admitted that his emotion was from realizing that our son was growing up.
It sent us into a wave of emotion the rest of the day thinking about how far we’ve come as parents. How far our kids have come in their own journeys of childhood.
The Baby
We have a six-month-old, and he’s recently started napping better and sleeping through the night. Through the blurred first few months {IYKYK} it’s something we wished and couldn’t wait for: sleep. And we’re finally getting it. You wish for these little milestones to happen, but when they do, it all becomes so bittersweet. I find myself scrolling back through pictures to when we brought him home from the hospital.
There’s such a push and pull with parenthood; grow up, don’t grow up. Leave me alone; stay right next to me. Need me; don’t need me. My kids are growing up. For now, I am still their world. I’m going to revel in the heartwarming feeling it gives me. And even when they’re grown and on their own, I hope they’ll always need me a little bit.
Pin this post and be sure to follow
Houston Moms
on Pinterest!
