Don't Blink

I went to the Standards Fireside tonight with the Young Woman in our Ward. There was one talk there that really spoke to me. He talked about how we shouldn't be wishing our lives away. He was speaking to the Youth but I applied it to my own life. He counseled the youth to really embrace their life right and to enjoy it because they will someday look back and wonder where the time went.

I'm already seeing that with our kids. Maddie will turn 3 is just a dew weeks and it seriously feels like we just found out I was pregnant with her. The gentleman that spoke to them also spoke to the parents and counseled them to not wish away any part of their lives as well. He remembered a time when his kids were just babies and he wondered when life would get just a little easier, like when the kids would be able to talk and actually tell him why they were upset or when he didn't have to carry an arsenal of "stuff" just to go to the grocery store. Now that his kids are almost all grown up he longs to hold a baby again. We can't blink or we'll miss life.

I'm definitely in the situation of wondering when it will get just a little easier or when will the kids be able to get a snack by themselves and not have to rely on me for everything...sadly I've had days where I've longed for the future. But as I think of his talk and look at my life I see the immense joy and love and laughter I have RIGHT NOW.

I know the day will come that I will long to hear Maddie's cute high pitched little voice saying things like, Mommy and Maddie are pretty. Daddy and Lyndon are cool".

and

"Pink, oh that's my favorite. Imagination movers, oh that's my favorite. Pizza and Pop, oh that's my favorite."

and

"I'm Tasha. Mommy you are Uniqua, and Lyndon is the Pablinator. Let's pretend."

And I will definitely miss her adorable curious little eyes staring up at me in question or sparkling when he's being silly. Or hearing her say she has "purple eyes, like Aurora".

I will miss her little lisp. I know she made need some speech therapy someday but I think it is absolutely ADORABLE. Sometimes I have her repeat things just because I love to watch her little tongue curl up to try and spit the word out.

With Lyndon, I will surely long for his sweet hugs and cuddles. That boy loves me and he shows it daily. I'll miss snuggling him with his silky blanket while he watches Mickey Mouse.

I'll miss how he dances or moves his body whenever he hears any type of music. I'll miss dancing with him holding his hands going around and around in a circle.

I'll miss the silly things he does like tonight when he kept snagging grapes from the trash and going to lay on my dirty laundry piles to eat them. (Hey, whatever entertains him while I'm trying to talk on the phone is good with me.)

I'll miss when he runs like crazy into the front room when I get home yelling "Momma, Momma".

I'll miss how he plops himself face first into the bean bag chairs, stays there for a moment and them looks up to see who is watching him be silly.

My Mom told me a few months ago to just love every minute with my kids because all too fast they grow up and it's on the next stage in life. She said she would give anything to go back in time and be able to just hold us again.

I will remember on a daily basis to not blink because all too fast they go from this:

to this:

and from this:

to this: