Last night I had a rare treat. I'm always bemoaning the fact that I wish I could go back 10 years to when my babies were lil bitty... when they needed me so much... when pudgy lil toddler arms were my constant necklace.... when I was utterly DEPLETED physically but so FULL of being the MOM. In those days, I was exhausted... continually dreaming of when they could wipe their own butts... tie their own shoes... get their own sandwich... Being the MOM was my every minute.... it was commonplace.... we don't often remember to cherish the commonplace. Well I'm there. Every one of my offspring can do these things on their own now, and you know what? I actually MISS doing everything for them. I miss the commonplace of being the MOM. I'm still their mom, but it is just not the same.
Yesterday, Elijah had a minor (but PAINFUL) surgical procedure done on a very irritated, ingrown toenail.
At about 10:30 p.m. (I had been asleep about an hour and a half) Jeremiah woke me with, "Elijah needs you. He is in a lot of pain." I inspected his toe to confirm we didn't need to call the doctor, and then proceeded to spend the night getting water, Tylenol, pillows to prop the bad foot up. I slept in his room waking each time his moaning intensified to help him find something to ease the pain. It was EXHAUSTING.
This morning as I woke to a WICKED headache I realized... that was it! I got to be the MOM again for a night. I got to be NEEDED, and I got to care for my nearly grown up baby. And if it weren't for seeing him in so much pain, it would have been a perfect trip back to being the MOM.
Just a couple of lessons here....
To those of you, exhausted, depleted, WORN OUT moms of lil bitties.... please listen to me! Sooner than you can imagine, these lil bitties WILL wipe their own butts, tie their own shoes, and make their own sandwiches. CHERISH EVERY SECOND NOW. Because I promise you, it won't be too long before being this needed will be just a distant memory.
To ALL the rest of us.... regardless of what you are going through, there is something about this season of life that you will eventually long for. In just 7 months I'll send my first born off to basic training.... I remind myself DAILY to CHERISH his stinky socks left out, his sometime stinky teen-man attitude, even the senioritis that has set in to plague all his schoolwork... look around right now, and enjoy the good stuff... because it too shall pass.