Seven Years

Last night we celebrated my oldest's birthday. As he and the other little parrty goers ran through the Family Fun Center (till they were pink and sweaty) it occurred to me—it was a birthday for me too. My Mommy birthday.

Yup, I've been a mommy for seven years now. He was a Y2K baby—has it really been that long? I remember each stage so well.

• Pregnancy—After losing two, I reveled in the honor of carrying a wiggly baby in my bulging tummy.
• Infancy—So many tender memories: the overwhelming love as I held him in my arms, his wee head turned to me for nourishment, the incomparable joy of his first smile and hearty giggle, and those peace-stirring coos.
• Toddlerhood—Yikes! His wobbled steps nearly always ending in a crash, kept me jumping after him, "Careful! Watch out! You'll hurt yourself!" But his sense of wonder and curiosity filled me with joy.
• Kindergarten—My first day homeschooling him was surprising. I was so nervous to be a homeschool mom, but then I liked it. When I saw the neighborhood kids piling on the school bus, a sense of peace and gratitude fell over me, and I knew it was the right decision for us.
• Seven—His triumphs and struggles are different now. Instead of giggling at a game of peek-a-boo, it takes a real joke to set him off. (What do you call a mare at night? A nightmare!) Instead of the never ending Goodnight Moon reading sessions, he now reads his Hooked on Phonics books to me. Instead of teaching him to share, I can tell him why sharing is important—and he gets it (kind of).

What a journey this seven-year mission has been. And I’ve got three more wee ones to raise along the way. When I’m in the moment, I sometimes forget about the joys of being a mommy and only focus on the frustrations—how tired I am, how the kids aren’t doing first-time obedience… but now, as I look back, the struggles seem small, and I can only ponder how fast the sweet time has flown.

So the encouragement for today is to savor each moment of being a mommy. Too soon we’ll be celebrating our eighteenth mommy birthday, and we’ll be glad we took the time with our little ones.