Time Flies! Why I'm Glad Some Of It Has!

Spring has finally sprung in the Northeast and it's about time!  This cold and snowy winter has made time feel like it was standing still.  But now that the sun has come out, and the bulk of the snow has melted, and the kids have informed me that there are less than 90 days until camp starts, I feel like time is, once again, flying.  A part of me hates to see the time pass because it means my days of child-rearing are numbered.  My oldest will be heading to high school in the fall and my baby will move up to middle school.  Gone are the days of play dates at the park and mystery readers at school - those things I will miss.  But in thinking about the "good ol' days" when the kids were young, I realized that I don't miss everything.  Here's what entered my head in a stream of consciousness the other day.

What I don't miss about having young kids:

My son hasn't had a stretch of time in his life for more than a month where he has slept through the night.  It would be fine if he was an infant, but alas, he is a teen and still gets up on occasion to tell me something.  At least he can put himself back to bed.  But, when he was younger, we were up between 2am and 4am consistently.  For years.  And years.  And the kicker?  He would be up for the day before 6am.  I do not miss those days.

I am sure I am not alone on this one.  The wiping, the slathering, the disposing, only to do it again in an hour.  And for a while there, times two tushies.  The Diaper Genie was a new-fangled toy when my son was born, and I am sure they have made improvements to it, but that perfumed powder-scented, sausage-link of waste could induce gagging in even the strongest of stomachs on clean-out day.

We had every kind of bottle imaginable to try to cease the the spit-up.  My son vomited after every feed without fail.  We tried every formula (no breastfeeding judgements please, that's a whole other story), and when we finally found the right one that he could digest, the vomiting diminished, but didn't disappear.  We used a special bottle that you could only order by mail (Amazon wasn't the, well, amazon it is now) and it had 5 pieces to wash.  Five!  And I washed everything by hand because the bottles were expensive and for a while there, he ate every 2 hours.  Now he eats just as frequently, but he no longer ruins my carpets and sofas with his lunch.

When the time comes for your kids to pretend that they no longer know you in public, that's the signal that you should no longer stand at the bus stop with them.  And although I can get nostalgic about those days, if I really think about it, it's hard to miss standing at the bus stop in the freezing cold or scorching heat and waiting for the driver to show.  Why was it that on those very uncomfortable days, the bus was late?  Nowadays, if the weather is extreme, my kids will sit in my car and wait for the bus.  We get to chat and sing to the radio together; much more enjoyable than shivering in an oversized coat that covered my pjs.

Okay, so I don't mind tying shoelaces, but what I don't miss is tying shoelaces on one set of shoes, moving on to the next kid to tie those laces, only to find that the first kid has taken his shoes off.  And the little one thinks it's funny, so she takes her shoes off too.  And round and around we go.  Now, they know how to tie the shoes themselves, not that my son ties his shoes, but he does know how.

I can't imagine anyone missing transporting a stroller in and out and in and out of a car trunk/bus/elevator.  They are cumbersome, heavy, and nearly impossible to open and close gracefully with packages and a few kids in tow.

Raise your hands for a vote:  Who misses the temper tantrums in a store when you had a cart full of groceries?  Not me!

Actually, this is a mixed one.  On one hand, I loved the time with them, I loved watching them "swim," and I loved the smell of them when they got out of the bath.  What I don't miss is the struggle to get them in the tub, and then once they were in there, the struggle to get them out.   How can the same people who hated to get into the bath so much also not stand the thought to get out of the tub until the very last drop of water has drained and their teeth are chattering and their lips are blue?  I'm good with showering, even if they are long on occasion.

One word.  Feberizing.  That was torture and didn't really work for me.  See number 1 for a refresher, in case you forgot.

My daughter has always been one to persevere when learning a new skill.  When she was 3, she stood in front of a mirror teaching herself how to blow bubbles in gum for two full hours.  I'm glad that she has that characteristic, but it was not fun when she discovered that if someone held both of her hands, she could walk.  We would circle the house for an hour and then I would try to distract her so she would move on to another activity.  Nothing doing.  If I put her down, she would let out a blood curdling scream.  But if I put my hands out, she would grab on, the crocodile tears would vanish, and the walking would once again commence.  She walked holding on to me for hours on end until she could do it herself - boy did my back ache!  This went on from the time she was 10 months and until she was 13 1/2 months, we walked like that for at least two hours a day.  I'm happy to say that I don't miss those days, although now they make me laugh rather than giving me a sore back.

Although I came up with a lengthy list, there are some things about having little ones that did pop into my head while compiling this list, so I jotted down a few memories that make me wish for time travel:

When else is there a time in the middle of the day where you are forced to be quiet and take a break from Wiffle ball, baby dolls, and finger painting?  Ahh, nap time. I still find myself trying to carve out 30-45 minutes in the middle of the day to stay off my phone, the internet, and enjoy the peace and quiet before the afternoon rush.

When my kids were little, we played music during dinner.  Most nights, they had trouble staying in their seats so they would dance around the kitchen between bites.  I filmed a few of those nights.  I miss seeing my tween as a tutu-clad toddler with a tiara and my son spinning her (and sometimes body slamming her).  Those were the best meals.

There are still a few books that I can "read" to them without actually having the book in hand.  One is Sandra Boynton's Snuggle Puppy!, and the other is Midnight Farm by Carly Simon.  Now they read all by themselves.  I'm glad that the tradition of reading at bedtime has continued, even if it no longer involves me.

I miss the matching pajamas and frilly dresses, shiny Mary Janes and madras plaid anything; I miss dressing them up and having them wear it.  Now it's yoga pants and t-shirts for her and track pants and t-shirts for him; positively boring.

I used to spend hours pitching balls and playing goalie before preschool.  My son's stamina amazed me and he loved every minute of it.  And my baby girl couldn't get enough of dressing up and running through the house, loosing a plastic dress-up shoe (on purpose) only to have someone (me, her granny, and even her brother) put it back on her foot and declare her to be Cinderella.  Now they either play on their own or with friends.  Rarely am I allowed to participate; it's just not "cool."

When they would horse around in a restaurant or a store, I would say, "You better behave or 'the man' will come."  It worked every time.  My kids were so well behaved in restaurants, all due to the fear of "the man."  Recently, I tried to use "the man" again when we were in the supermarket.  It didn't work.  They laughed at me.

After writing down all of these thoughts and reading them back, I figure that there will always be pros and cons at every stage of my children's lives.  Some will be worth waxing nostalgia, and some will be a distant (and happily so) memory.  But it's always worth it to me to stand back and take a mental picture of my kids, because whether it's a good moment or a not so good moment, this is their childhood, and by my standards, it is truly flying by.

So tell me, does this make you reminisce for days gone by, or look forward to days ahead?