So fast

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You have this tiny baby in your arms, or maybe he’s bigger and starting to walk.  Still little, though, still not in school.  And people stop you sometimes and they say for you to enjoy this time, because it goes by so fast.  And you know that, so you look at your baby and back to that person and you nod and you say that you know it does; that you know they’ll be big in the blink of an eye.  And you do know.  You do understand that. 

But you don’t really honestly know it until you find yourself wanting to stop parents with tiny little children, maybe put your hand on their shoulder so they will really hear you, and tell them to enjoy this time because before you know it, they’ll be big.  And the parent will kiss their baby on the head and say, Oh, I know.  I know it goes by so fast.  And then you’ll smile at them and you’ll think, You have no idea.

My kids haven’t grown up and left me yet, and it’s not that I don’t want them to.  It’s just that sometimes when my oldest one calls me after school and I answer my phone and hear his deep voice asking me if he can go someplace with his friends, it surprises me.  And I miss things like taking him to the hardware store where he’d talk to anyone who would listen.  I miss him dragging a chair into the kitchen to stand with me while I made supper.  I miss him being little and reaching up for me to pick him up.  It’s weird to look up at him.  It’s weird that his jeans are bigger than mine and that he’s way smarter at math.  It’s amazing, watching him grow up, but damn wasn’t he just two years old and goofy and sweet?    

 

16 thoughts on “So fast

  1. Shoebox Princess

    I’ve been thinking the same thing lately as my oldest boy prepares to graduate next month. He used to be this big-eyed big-eared little rough and tumble boy who liked dinosaurs and once said to me “I not a goofy boy, I a wacky boy.” All of a sudden he’s taller than I am, he drives a car, he can use photoshop, and the funny things he says now are things he MEANS to be funny. That little piece of me is not my own anymore. He belongs to himself and I feel like I’ve lost a bit of my own identity. I don’t want him not to grow up, but I do want to hug that little boy just one more time. And I want to tell my younger mom self that it will go by quickly because I remember back then crying through the difficulties thinking that it will never end.
    Sweet post.

    Reply
  2. Mrs. Flinger

    This? “And I miss things like taking him to the hardware store where he’d talk to anyone who would listen. I miss him dragging a chair into the kitchen to stand with me while I made supper. I miss him being little and reaching up for me to pick him up. ”
    I have this right now. I’m all choked up thinking about that going away. Thank you. I’m off to snuggle my son who today said, “I’m stuck! I can’t get downstairs. Carry me?”
    Thank you.

    Reply
  3. Gemini-Girl

    What a beautiful post….Sometimes I look at my twin toddlers and cant wait for them to grow up already… stop the fighting, nagging, crying, diaper accidents…. but other times I just try to imhale their little scents… because I know they will be big before I know it. Thank you so much for this post!

    Reply
  4. Tatiana

    This made me teary-eyed. I have one, and she’s only 14 months. I try so hard to cherish every single moment, and remember them, because I know that someday soon I’m going to wake up to the day I’m helping her move into a dorm.

    Reply
  5. ally (adil320)

    Thank you for this! My boys are almost 3 years and 15 months old. There are some days when I can’t wait for them to be just a little older…but then I remember how much I will miss this.

    Reply
  6. MichelleRenee

    Wow. WAS JUST THINKING THIS. Thanks for the good cry!
    My daughter is 15, taller than me and WAY better at texting than I ever be. She starts Drivers Ed in a month.
    He’s 5 and he’s my buddy. He starts all day Kindergarten in the fall and BEFORE I BLINK, it will be him that is taller than me and starting Drivers Ed.
    I miss that baby girl that was my best pal.
    In Honor of APPRECIATE THE MOMENT: I’m taking my little buddy out for DONUTS at lunch, because it does go by SO FAST.
    šŸ™‚ Michelle

    Reply
  7. Angi

    Seems like just yesterday my son was my baby. Yet Thursday I’m going to a parents meeting for MIDDLE SCHOOL. *cry* It DOES go too fast. *cry*

    Reply
  8. agirlandaboy

    The worst part for me is believing that I can slow down time if I really concentrate hard on appreciating every little moment, on recording every little step, on clutching at time as it skips past. I know it’s not going to make any difference, though, because time steals all our babies this way, and perhaps the fact that I fight it so hard is a bad thing, but it’s also all I’ve got.
    Beautiful post.

    Reply
  9. Kellee

    I don’t have kids, but this has happened with my sisters, I am 10 years older from the next oldest. It like five minutes ago they were teeny tiny and I was throwing them around. And holy hell, how am I almost 30 and you’re graduating high school? I can only imagine how that is all amplified when they are your children!

    Reply

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