Am I Missing Something?

Parents of small children know that when you take said small children out in public, you can always expect every "seasoned" parent or elderly person you encounter to gush on and on about how children grow so quickly and hold on to these days because you're going to miss them!!!

And I'm like, "Really? I'm not sure that 'miss' is quite the word you were searching for."

Because while I might remember fondly or enjoy nostalgic reminiscing about those days, actually "missing" them implies that I wish I was back there right now, or that I wish I could be there all the time. Forever. Which, sorry, but that is not the case.

Don't get me wrong - I LOVE babies and very small children and have loved every stage my kids have gone through (I mean that generically, because obviously we could all do without a great number of those moments - but still they all add up to the whole experience after all!) And probably I would say I missed them if my kids were gone or grown and moved away, but even then it would be missing the children themselves and my experience with them, not just the past gone by. I certainly do not "miss" my own childhood or, heaven knows, my high school days, or my single adult years. Sure, I had some good times, and I do remember them fondly, but do I wish I was back there right now? Good heavens, no. And I think that's okay - I think the point of enjoying life is to live in the present and appreciate each stage as it comes. I love my kids' ages now - I love the independence, both theirs and mine. I love that they can easily communicate and interact with each other. I love that they can, say, get themselves ready for bed without my help. That is HUGE! But I'm excited for them to get older too, so we can go on grand BIG KID adventures and talk about the more interesting things they're learning in school, and I'm pretty sure I'll be too busy enjoying those days to "miss" these ones.

I've had the opportunity to babysit several babies recently, and wow it's a trip! I know it's different when they aren't your own kids and you aren't completely familiar with their routines, etc. But it's been eye-opening to me since I'm about to go back to those days. Kind of terrifying, I'm not gonna lie. Like, I had to consciously remind myself to change diapers somewhat regularly, for example. Also I got nothing done, ever, even a little bit. I am not complaining, but it's definitely a different pace of life! It will certainly take some getting used to again.

Meantime, I am busy living in the present. Here are some little gems of late:

Kate prepared our Family Home Evening lesson tonight by herself. I meant to snap a picture of her laboring away at the computer (she wanted to type it up formally) but I got distracted. First she watched this video for inspiration:

This is the gist of what she came up with:

We sang "Choose the Right," and she transcribed the words into her document.

She also made Brooklyn and Troy role-play Brooklyn pretending to think Troy was weird-looking but then deciding later that that wasn't nice and telling him he was cute instead.

Needless to say, it was awesome.

Brooklyn has become quite the little writer in the few short months since she's started kindergarten. She insists that I write notes to her on her napkin in her lunchbox every day. (Somehow the spirit of thoughtfulness becomes a little less genuine when you are told to do a specific act of kindness.)

Then she started telling me to include a pen in her lunchbox so she can write back to me. I think maybe one of her friends does this with her mom, so Brooklyn thought it was a good idea.

I love reading these little napkin notes she brings home.

But wait! That's not all she's learning to write in school.

Like all schoolgirls, she is mastering the fine art of writing notes to boys.

Here's the Modern English translation, if you needed a little help with that:

"Dear Cameron, Are you telling the truth? Did you cut the line or not? Tell me the truth. Love Brooklyn"

I love that "truth" = "choof" when sounded out phonetically by Brooklyn.

And of course, she makes random appearances on film when Kate steals my camera...

I love these sweet and random 7-, 5-, and 3-year-olds!

And I will love them just as much (or even more) when they are 8, 6, and 4. Or 80, 60, and 40. Wait... something went wrong with my math there...

Speaking of [gracefully] aging, my own mother turned 29 again today!!!

Happy birthday Mommy!

May you never "miss" an age gone by and only look forward to those 29th birthdays still to come!