Someday I’ll miss this….

Have you ever been in the midst of a tantrum and think “Someday I’ll miss this…” Not I. Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night for the 5th time and think to yourself “Some day I’ll miss this….” Nope. Or have you scraped a 3rd meal down the sink because your picky little eater has yet to eat a meal did you afterwards think “Some day I’ll miss this……” Definitely not I. As a mother of two I know those aren’t really the times I may miss in the future but I try to remind myself some day that these little people won’t need my guidance on how to act and that those tantrums was just a sign of my hard work. Or that those late nights I got no sleep were the nights my children got their backs rubbed because their teeth hurt, or even how someday I KNOW I will miss cooking those meals for them, even if they do end up in the trash.

We all need little reminders to get through the harder days, or even the harder moments. I don’t know about you but I can go from having the most fabulous day to “crap this sucks” in 5 minutes flat. It doesn’t take much for me. I just try to spin it around with these little reminders as much as possible. Yesterday was one of those days where I was able to recognize a moment I knew some day I will miss so very much. I hate running errands with my kids. I hate getting anything in public accomplished with them and I’m a spoiled SAHM because I have my husband who takes them so I can go and food shop alone, run errands, get a new dress for a wedding or stop at the post office. However, sometimes their is no way around it and those little people must come with me so I can get things checked off the list so we can spend time as a family. So we set off to drop a package off at the UPS store, pick up an order at Staples and food shop the other day. It’s been a long and brutal Winter and my 21 month old is getting big so wherever we go I let him walk and burn some energy these days. Madison takes one hand, I take the other and yes very slowly we walk to whatever store we are headed for. Madison spotted a few rides outside of a store on our walk into Staples. It was a tractor and a car that took quarters. I thought what the heck let them hang out in the 60 degree air and have some fun. I popped a few quarters and watched them smile as the cars bounced around a bit. After the quarters ran out we took Drew’s hand and we were off to pick up our order. I looked down and realized I was in the middle this time, holding both of my kids hands. My heart was warmed instantly and all of a sudden I had tears in my eyes. I had my ah ha moment of “Some day I will miss this…….I just want to hold their hands forever but someday they won’t need my hand anymore.

One thing every mother of grown children has said to me over and over again it’s “Cherish these times, soon enough they will be gone and you will miss them.” Of course sometimes those comments are said when my youngest has whined for 4 hours straight because I have no idea what he is trying to tell me or when my oldest has no clue why she MUST hit her little brother every time she walks by him, the days where I want to punch that mother of older kids and scream “How many hours of sleep did you get last night??!!!” The sad part is that I know they are right. No matter how hard it is to raise a family and no matter how many times I may get frustrated and tired I am going to miss these innocent times. However I still struggle with remembering them. So I will remind you of a few that have happened to me.

When you are on week five with no more than four hours of consecutive sleep each night because your little one is teething and just wants you. …………………Remember some day he will no longer need you to comfort them and you will actually miss those sleepless nights.

When you are barley awake in the morning and you step into the bathroom and see a huge glob of toothpaste sitting on the counter and the cap to that toothpaste is amongst the dirty bathroom some where…………..Remember that someday your little one isn’t going to need you to remind them to take good care of their teeth anymore. I know you will miss that.

When you are cleaning up strips and squares of construction paper come 9pm at night because your little one has discovered that cutting paper into little pieces is fun………………..Remember that someday that little genius will be a successful adult making his/her own artwork at a real job doing whatever they are meant to be doing and you may just miss that.

When you are carefully and strategically fighting with your little ones to hang up their coats, hats and mittens when they come through the door because the last thing you want to do after you clean up after dinner is clean up the breezeway. Stop……….Remember that you are trying to teach your kids to pick up after themselves and be responsible……………..Remember that when your kids are grown and gone, every time you hang up your own coat you will remember those long tired nights and probably will miss them.

When your husband walks through the door from work and before he can even set his things on the counter you are handing your youngest off to him because he’s clung to you all day and you just need to feel well…..like you are one person instead of two…………..Remember that there will be a day where you wish you could hold your little one all day long.

When you crawl into bed at night tired from a day where you feel like you’ve gotten absolutely nothing accomplished, I urge you to make your tired body get back out of bed and go peak in on your little ones. Realize that they were fed, happy and cared for all day and someday when you are falling into bed dead tired you won’t be able to sneak into the room next door and check on your little ones.

Embrace not only everyday Momma’s…..but every moment!