Had I But Known How Fast They Grow Out of Childish Things

Guest Post by: Kristi Hanson

It’s zero hour. Guests are arriving at any moment. You’ve been cooking and cleaning for what seems like days. Your chest squeezes tight as you try to attain a Pintrest worthy table setting and you pray that this year’s family portrait doesn’t end up on Awkward Family Photos. The doorbell rings and screams suddenly erupt from the living room where your three kids are having a meltdown over whose turn it is with the television remote, or someone took their spot on the couch. You find yourself in tears thinking something like, “I can’t wait until they grow up.” Or, maybe that’s just me.

The other day, I sat across the table from a high school counselor who was tapping my oldest son’s schedule for next year into her computer. I looked over at this boy, who is now over six feet tall, his face has thinned and become angular with a few whiskers sprouting from his chin, and I think, “where did it go?”

This is the same boy who used to pretend to be Scooby-Doo and would sit on my lap watching Dora the Explorer while I worked. He had a cute little lisp and would say, “Whiper,” instead of “Swiper”. I knew then that he wouldn’t stay small forever. But slowly, I let the day to day tasks wheedle their way in-between us and I lost track.

Two siblings later and a full-time job just compounded things. There were times when I thought that one more minute of hearing the theme song from Bob the Builder would make me puke. I thought I’d never emerge from being elbow deep in the trenches of diapers, strollers, and cheerios. Now, I look back and wish that I could pull them close and smell the baby shampoo in their hair, or hear their baby giggles, or watch their eyes go wide in amazement at everything.

Last Christmas my youngest son, at age eight, announced that he wouldn’t be sitting on Santa’s lap. I thought, there goes another one. Another milestone that symbolizes less child and more grown-up. I was heartbroken to see that part of my kids childhood be over. But, isn’t that what I wanted? Isn’t that what I go to in times of stress, thinking that if they just got bigger and acted more grown-up that everything would be easier?

It seems that Old Father Time is pulling the rug out from under me. The older they get, the more I realize how fast it’s passing. James 4:14 says, “yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” People told me to cherish every moment because kids grow up too fast, but in the thick of things I wasn’t willing to stop and soak in those moments.

Had I but known how fast they would grow out of childish things, I would have worried less about clean houses, schedules and perfect photos. I would have sat through one more episode of Sesame Street and read just one more story.  Knowing this now, when I catch myself thinking, “It will be so nice when he can drive himself to swim practice,” I stop and realize that I have twenty minutes with him all to myself. To talk about his favorite band, to laugh, to retell stories of the day.  The daily tasks, jobs, and homework have to get done, but when you put it into perspective, it can wait, growing up doesn’t.  

This beautiful post is written by Kristi Hanson. Writer, mother, and wife are just a few of the titles she goes by. She currently resides in Alaska and is the lovely hostess of the blog The Winged Pen. Thank you, Kristi, for your willingness to contribute and for having the courage to be my very first guest blogger!

 

Lady Mary Agrees (or so Albert told me)

So I’ve wanted to create my own meme on one of those meme-generators online, but lacked the fodder for something funny or even moderately entertaining. Well, what better fodder than that of a blog award! Amy, over at ADDled, has nominated me for the blogger Sunshine Award—thank you, Amy! What fun! Here’s what this award actually means:

“The Sunshine Award is an award given by bloggers to other bloggers. The receivers of the Sunshine Award are bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogsphere.”

So, while the word “blogsphere” is a bit intimidating, I’m honored to receive this award and in my insecurity have turned to Lady Mary for affirmation—which she gave in Lady Mary style (see above). Yet, while I am so pumped to win an award (because I MUST. WIN. THEM. ALL.), I do feel like a big fat fraud receiving it for this very reason:

I blog because I love it.

Yes, this sounds like a ludicrous reason to feel fraudulent. Let me explain. When creating my blog 2 years ago, I set out simply to have a funnel through which I could dump all of my whirling thoughts and creative urges in order to try and orchestrate some kind of order to them all. This began a torrid blogging love affair. I can “verbally” process through the tsunami of ideas and come out feeling a little more in control. And now Amy tells me that I also “inspire.”

Well, tarnation. That’s a whole lot of scrumptious icing on my blog cake. So thank you, Amy, for this treat!

Now the award has some stipulations, as always. I need to offer the blogsphere (nope, that word doesn’t lose its power with continued use—the theory of habituation is clearly flawed) 7 facts about myself, then nominate 7 other blogs for this award. (And I tried to pick blogs that haven't already been nominated.)

Here’s 7 FACTS:

#1 - Unlike Kate, over at Nested, I love potatoes. All potatoes. Mashed, scalloped, fried, buttered, salted, ketchuped, whatever. I come from a strong Germanic background deep in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. So hitch up the buggy and call me Jakey because I’m coming home for those potato cakes.

#2 - As a child, I always wanted to be called Albert. Identity crisis? Appears so. Because I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie with Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert. And my favorite character was Albert. My sister and cousin (female) and I would play “little house” in the back yard and you’d think with 3 of us and only 2 main girls roles (Laura and Mary, duh.) there’d be some squabbling. Not so, my friends. Because I wanted to be Albert. Problem solved. 

                                                                     www.fanpop.com

Come on, seeing that face, wouldn't you want to be 

called Albert too? No? Okay, then, moving on. 

#3 - I hate to hang up clean laundry. I will put it in drawers, but I hate to put clothes on hangers, it takes way too much work. (I think Lady Mary will back me up on this.) Instead I drape it across the rocking chair in my bedroom until I can no longer find anything without despairing of my life. Once I get to that point, I then hang everything up and start over with an empty chair—like an empty canvas—waiting to be filled. And fill it I do. (vicious cycle.)

#4 - I am the most un-morning person you will probably ever meet. I will snooze the alarm half-a-dozen times before my husband finally yells at me to get out of bed. Then I will trudge to the bathroom, sit on the toilet in silence and do my business while checking FB, Twitter, email, etc on my phone. And if anyone attempts to interact with me during this private moment, they are either ignored or receive the scowl of Sauron. Then it’s directly into the shower. Once the shower is done, I seem to do better. It’s apparently the impetus I need to not be homicidal for the rest of the day.

http://kattalnuva.deviantart.com/art/Sauron-demotivator-210518868

Sorry, this was too funny not to include.

LOTR lovers, I know you feel me.

#5 - I (and my family) endured some intense post-partum depression after my third child was born. When I have shared this with other mothers over the last few years they often seem relieved and inform me that they too have experienced something similar and don’t feel at liberty to talk about it. What in the world?! Why is there such a negative stigma to post-partum depression? Yes, yes, I know new mothers are supposed to be all aglow at the creation of new life. And there’s a glow about us, all right. It’s sweat from the hauling of carrier seats and laundry baskets full of poopy clothes and soggy burp cloths and feeding little crying mouths, all while running on 2 hours of sleep. It’s hard work, people, and what makes it harder (well nigh impossible) is to make a woman feel deficient because her hormones are telling her to hide in a dark closet or rage at her husband because he put the glass right-side-up instead of up-side-down in the dishwasher. (*Exhale.* Rant over. See, you had no idea what you asked for when offering me this award …actually, it was Amy’s idea, so the rest of you can stop reading at any time. Okay, this is taking too long. Moving speedily along...)

#6 - I watch the Vampire Diaries because—despite my aversion to the blood and gore and appalling underage drinking and partying—its story-telling is gripping. It’s much like Twilight—I know how horribly ridiculous it is, yet I can’t stop watching.

#7 - I now, finally, have a door back on my bathroom! (Though this does not mean I relinquish my vow to doorless living. Quite the opposite, actually.)

And now, the nominations (in no particular order because they are all stupendous and inspirational) are:

Terry at An Angel’s Share

Karen at The Wordshop

Danni at From the Ranch Pen

Drema at The Grammar of Painting

Liza at Green Light*

Kristi at The Winged Pen*

Lauren at Porters Happy Place**

*Both Kristi and Liza are shiny, new bloggers. And while they only have a few posts up, I know that getting rid of their doors and leaping into the blogsphere took great courage for them both. Yet they still did it. Which to me is inspiring. You rock, ladies!

**Lauren is a former student of mine and she is one of the most delightful people you’ll ever meet—I am SO proud of her!