Babies Growing Up: Becoming an Empty Nester
Do any of you get upset when you notice your little ones starting to grow?
When they learn to play a new video game, start saying new words or start putting their clothes on by themselves?
It’s amazing to me how much changes right before our very eyes and yet it takes a while for us to notice those changes have been made.
Today… our two-year-old son pointed to a family picture up on the wall and said, “Daddy! Love You!”.
My heart melted and I instantly felt like crying.
Our youngest is growing up and the realization that someday soon I will be an empty nester is starting to set in. I never thought about that before. I suppose it’s because we’ve continued to have children. When you’re having more, the idea of them leaving the nest is out of your mind. However, I’ve realized that when you are done having children…. It hits you like a ton of bricks.
When I was younger, all I wanted to be… was a mom. I did not dream of going to space or becoming a police officer like the other children. No. I wanted a family. I wanted what I saw happening in my home. I saw how my mother would light up on holidays and birthdays, simply because her children were happy. I saw her and her husband (at the time) going on vacations and having a date night every weekend.
I wanted, what I thought was, the perfect family life. The ones you see on the Halmark channel during the holidays.
Now, my life is nowhere near perfect. However, I’ve gotten what I wanted.
These children make my life so much better than I could ever imagined and the thought of them leaving scares me.
What will I do when they’re gone? How will I handle my day to day when they no longer need me to read them a bedtime story to get to sleep, do they’re hair for an outing or tell them what picture they drew is the best to put up on the fridge?
These questions make my skin crawl. I don’t ever want to have to answer them.
Okay, I know I will have to someday, but I hope that the time goes by slowly. I want to cherish every gibberish-filled conversation, every hug, every bedtime story, every fight about eating vegetables and everything in between.
In fact, I wish time would just stand still…. just for a little while.
How did you handle your little ones growing up?
🧡Shine Bright, Kayla
Originally Published on Medium.com November 2022