Time Flies

As published in the LaPorte County Herald-Argus:

One Minute You're Dropping Them off at Kindergarten, the Next Minute, They're Graduating from High School
By, Michelle Harmon

This week my oldest daughter turned 11. 11! I can hardly believe it! Where has the time gone? I can remember being 11; how is it possible that I am old enough to have a daughter who is 11?! Of course, my daughter was super-excited about turning 11. “That means,” she informed me, beaming, “that I will be a teenager in two years!” SCREECH! I could hear my thoughts come to a grinding stop. A teenager! Then, my thoughts started spinning around and around in my head as I remembered how I was as a teenager, what I had done, what I had said to my parents, how I had lied and snuck out and fell in love and... “Mom!” my son's demanding wail brought me back to the present. I got a grip on myself and refilled my son's sippy cup, and looking at him, I remembered how my daughter looked and sounded at his age. I also remembered what my mother had told me when Zoe (my 11 year old) was crawling and I was so excited for her to start walking, she said, “Don't wish time away, you won't believe me now, but I am telling you, one minute you're dropping them off at Kindergarten and the next minute, they're graduating from high school. That's how fast it goes.” At the time, I remember rolling my eyes and not paying to much attention to my mother's sage advice.
Now, I know it to be true. This week my oldest turns 11. Next week, my youngest will turn 2, and I miss the old versions of themselves that I used to hold and rock to sleep. All the nights I stayed awake rocking my baby girl to sleep or crying right along with my son as he wailed with colic, I had prayed for them to grow bigger, so I could get some rest. Now, I realize how important it is to live in the moment, to never wish time would go by faster. It goes by fast enough. Now, sometimes I wish I could hit the brakes and keep my little man 1 for a few more years. But, I can't do that. Time just keeps moving. So, Mamas, don't ever wish your baby was crawling or walking ro talking before his time, enjoy holding him; enjoy every quiet moment; document every smile, every tear. I often hear Moms saying that they can't wait for their kids to be in school, then, maybe they can get things done! True, there is a certain amount of freedom that a Mom gets when her kids are at school all day, but you'll miss the days when they were at home with you. Once they start school, time seems to go even faster as they start to explore the world without you. Be patient, let time pass as it must. I'm telling you this: one minute you're dropping them off at kindergarten, and the next minute, they're graduating from high school.