Don't Blink

When you have small children "old" people tell you how fast they will grow up, how fast the years will fly by... yadda, yadda, yadda......

You smile politely and nod......tired from midnight feeds, sick kids, snotty noses........

You actually wonder if these "old" people have lost their minds and are suggesting you actually enjoy these sleep deprived years of chaos and craziness.

And then sudden things happen.

You look up and your kids are walking, talking, peeing in the toilet.

You give yourself a congratulatory pat on the back and enjoy an uninterrupted latte.

5 minutes later (as you are beginning to give the "old" people's words a bit of respect) you see your children walking through the school doors, playing soccer, dancing on a stage, riding bikes, doing chores, going away to summer camp, flying off to France or Alaska, cleaning their own rooms, texting you, long boarding, surfing, dating, cooking, making their own decisions.....

At this moment there is a GIGANTIC slight twinge in your heart.....this did happen awfully fast.......

And then you look at your diary and realise that in 6 weeks you will have 2 teenagers in highschool. Well almost - we do have the summer as a buffer/transition for my heart and mind.

You want to run out "there" and find those "old" people who told you this would happen and ask them why they they didn't MAKE you understand. You try to bat down the rising panic that your kids days in your home are numbered.

Literally you can count the days......on a calendar......soooooo terribly freaky.

Suddenly those kids who used to creep downstairs early on a Saturday morning to eat cheerios cuddled under a blanket on the couch and yell  "Ola" at Dora........sleep later than their parents and watch creepy sci fi shows.

It's like being hit in the face with a wet fish.....only it stinks more.......and hurts more.........

I have loved every age and stage my kids have gone through.......some a tad more than others....and it's not that I don't love that they are this age and stage.  It just feels like it happened oh too soon, too quickly and although I am sure only a mad woman would want to hold on to the teenage years, I do find myself wanting to hold onto my kids for a bit longer before we build them a house next door to live in launch them into the world.

Two teenagers in highschool.......how the years have flown by.

"Old" people are right.