What will I miss?

I was helping Ethan get some food to eat this morning as he goes to get his chair and pushes it across the kitchen floor. It made that sound that only a chair moving across a floor can make. The one that is so noisy, and so annoying, especially when you just got your 5 month old asleep like 10 minutes ago. And I started think about getting after him, only to decide it didn't matter. Then I started to think about things that my kids do that I may miss in about 20 years when they are all grown, especially the things that bother me now. I think these thoughts came from feelings I was having earlier today as I watched Jayden and Ethan playing. They were so cute and sweet to each other, and they played for well over an hour without any fighting. I was also holding Austin and talking to him, getting some big smiles out of him. I couldn't help but feel so happy and so blessed. I love my children so much, and I love watching them grow.


I love babies, I have always been drawn to them since I was little. I can't help but hug and kiss my babies tons of times each day. I love their cute little chubby faces, their smiles, their sounds, the way they grab your face and try to eat you. I know the feeling. I love them so much, I want to "eat" them, you know... how you kiss and kiss their faces. I think that is they way they feel too as they try to eat you. I love when they will snuggle into you and just love you. I had two snugglers (Ethan and Jayden), and it was so much fun to just hold them. I love the peaceful looks of a baby sleeping, and any child for that matter. It is amazing the love you feel as you look at your sleeping child. I have heard the advice to watch your child sleep. Especially one that you may be struggling with. The love that you feel seems to make it all a little easier to take.




Will I miss potty training my kids? That is what we are doing right now with Ethan. I don't think that is something I will miss. Ethan actually just had an accident. Lovely. I will miss his "what Mom, what?" that he asks dozens of time each day. I will definitely miss the sounds of this little boy playing with his toys. His imagination works a lot like Dylan's and it is fun to see that again at this age. His favorite thing to have his toys say to each other is "Hi, friend."



I know all the sound and craziness gets to me at times, but I am sure I will miss it in 20 years. My house will be quiet a lot of the time. Sure, eventually there will be grandchildren, but not in my house constantly; there to greet me in the morning, throughout the day, all afternoon, and to tuck in at night. I will probably even miss the craziness of 3 and 4 extra kids in the house when friends are over playing. I won't be saying "go play outside or in the basement, the baby is asleep." I won't be annoyed when after all my effort, the door slams 2 or 3 times as the kids head to the backyard, and then the baby I was trying to keep asleep is awake anyway.

Two things that I always hear that I will miss are the fingerprints and the laundry. I can maybe see missing the fingerprints, funny as that is. But I just don't know about the laundry.



I will probably miss having to constantly be reminding my sweet Dylan to get his socks and shoes on. I will miss how it can take him an hour to go upstairs and get his socks, and still not even have his socks on. I will definitely miss the way he loves our babies like I do. Wanting to hold and kiss them and touch them. All our boys have had their cheeks poked just like this as he tries to get them to smile. He loves babies, and the neat thing of when he is grown, will be to see him as a dad.



I will miss his "good morning Austin" or insert any other babies name here. He loves to kiss the baby goodnight. I will miss all his imagination. I hope he never loses it. He has the greatest ideas. I love how he pretends his hands are robots. One is a good robot, and one is a bad robot. One had his pointer is the head, and on the other hand the middle finger is the head. I have debated whether to say anything or not. So far I haven't.


Will I miss finding his homework on the counter after having told him to put in it in his backpack 10 times the night before because it was due today (this happened today)? Or finding it still in his backpack several days after it was due?

Or how about the 5 am waking up to play and often getting his brothers up in the process. To miss that I don't think I'll have to wait 20 years... probably just until he's a teenager and never wants to get up before 10 am. Already he is starting to do it a little on the school days, and then on weekends seems to magically be able to get up early again.



I will miss seeing this boy do his potty dance. I will miss him telling me he doesn't need to go, when I ask, and then about a minute or two later, he is racing to the bathroom, and I can hear him frantically trying to not have an accident. I will miss his sweetness. His "okay mommy." His "what job can I do today?" His "I love you mom." I hope that stays with him - all of that sweetness, I am sure it will. I will miss how much he asks to play the Wii, watch TV, or play the computer. I will miss how he calls all of those things "wasting time." He will ask "have I wasted my time today?"

There are probably a million more things I will miss, but at least my recording them here will help me to remember them, if not make me a little more grateful for my children, even the things that I may not love now.