Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Mom of Two

There are many differences between being a parent of one and a parent of two.  There are the obvious differences, of course.  It takes longer to do... everything.  It takes longer to go anywhere.  There is so.much.more laundry. WAY more toys.  A lot more messes. SO much less sleep.  And of course, more love and cuddles and hugs and little feet to kiss.

But one of the biggest differences of being a mom of two for me, is that I am now so acutely aware of how quickly the days, weeks, months, years fly by and just how warped time is when watching your baby grow up.  When Elizabeth was a baby, I just kind of took it for granted that the baby stage lasts forever.  Or at least a very, very long time. 

Then I blinked and Elizabeth turned 4 1/2 the other day.  How did that happen?  How has it been 4 1/2 years since I held her in that hospital bed after pushing her out for two hours? 

 

Every single day I look at Anna and know that this time is so, so limited.  She will only be a baby for such a short time.  She is growing so very fast. She is 7 1/2 months old today.  The baby stage does NOT last forever or for a very, very long time.  It flies by at warp speed.  And then? They aren't babies anymore.  Ever again. 


So for now I cuddle and kiss and relish in the baby that she is today.  Because she'll be big all too soon.

____________________

This next part is a piece of a blog post from Jill at BabyRabies.com.  She wrote a letter to her 51 year old self and I can relate to every word. (Here is the link to the entire blog post.)

Even though you were tired and challenged, exasperated and overwhelmed, you knew then that you would miss these days…most of them, at least. It was a truth that was hard to live with, and most of the time you ignored it because there was nothing you could do about the passing of time. If you spent your days mourning the ones that had gone by, you’d miss out on the days you were living in.

You knew you were on a light rail, moving at speeds you couldn’t comprehend. You had no control over the ride that brought you to where you are today, but believe me when I say you searched so very hard to find the emergency brake.

Please know, please remember that you tried to savor that time. Be at peace, knowing you spent late afternoons curled up with them on the couch, that sometimes you just sat and watched them move and run, that occasionally you took inventory of all the things they’d learned in the last week, and that you appreciated your time with them the best you knew how. Know that despite your very best efforts, there was no way to freeze time.
I promise you, you tried.