Usually I hear it from older moms. “This time while they are little will go by in a flash,” they tell me. “Blink once and they are headed off to college.” And usually I am hearing these comments while trying desperately to hold everything together in a public place such as the grocery store.
It’s so easy to get bogged down. It’s so hard to maintain any kind of perspective. I’ve never worked this hard in my life. Either I’ve had it pretty easy, or the workload is insane. Both, probably. And I’ve never been a good multi-tasker. Now, multi-tasking is survival. There is no other way. And with 6 or 7 different tasks, and trains of thought, going on all at once, I don’t ever pause to tell myself, “Wow, this will be over so fast…and I’ll miss it!”
Until those older moms, those strangers, stop me in the store, and I look up long enough to process their wistful comments, and see them blink back a tear.
The other night, I got a similar reminder from an unlikely source–my four year old. She was helping to bathe her baby sister. Now, it had been at least two months since I had allowed her to go near the baby tub, despite her pleading. More than one bad incident with overzealous rinsing. This night, however, she actually was behaving marvelously, content with swishing the washcloth over her sister’s little tummy.
Suddenly she jumped up from the tub, grabbed my phone from the counter, and announced: “We need to take a picture of Gabrielle, so we can remember this night. We need to remember this night for all the days.”
She looked above the phone, making eye contact with her sister, who was contentedly splashing and chewing on a Disney princess bath toy. “Smile, you wittle cutie! Aww, my wittle sweetie! That’s the way!!” Click.
Thanks, stranger moms in Kroger. Thanks, sweet four year old girl. Mom will remember.