Thursday, August 19, 2010

Bigger Picture #8: Loving Who He Is

Tuesday morning I shut off my alarm and fell back to sleep. When I did wake up, it was to the voices of my two boys. I opened my eyes to see both the four-year-old and the two-year-old standing their saying, "Wake up, Mommy!"

I told them good morning and began to have conversation with them. It wasn't until the two-year-old said to me, "I climbed out of my crib," that it even occurred to me that he's never come to my room in the morning, I always go to his!

Now, let me say, I did know he could climb out of his crib. He has done it, not frequently, but on several occasions. But, never in the morning. Our usual morning routine is that he wakes up and then when he's ready, he calls to us, somehow seeming to know what day it is and which parent to call for. But, on Tuesday, he climbed out and came to wake me up.

At first I was surprised that I wasn't more surprised by his presence at my bedside. But then it occurred to me...I wasn't surprised because even though he's my baby, I do see him as a big boy and I am happy with who he is growing up to be.

I'm not quite ready to give up the crib. It will take several more morning escapes for that to happen.

But for now I just remain hopeful that each day when he (or his brother) greets me - whether he is two or twelve or twenty-two - I will look at him and simply love who he is right then and there.

For more Bigger Picture Moments visit Melissa.

7 comments:

Cristina said...

I love this! I too see more and more the little boy in my 21 month old, than the baby.... it's both exciting and sad for me. Sad only because he is our last baby.

Anonymous said...

This is so true. It's so much harder for us than it is for our children...they're growing up so fast and there is nothing we can do to slow it down!

Melissa said...

I can't believe it either! Listening to my kids have conversations with each other, my 2 year old insisting she can "do it herself", my 11 month old running around and thinking she is a big kid. They change so fast! I love it! But sometimes I feel as though I am grasping at fleeting moments that slip through my fingers. It's bittersweet in some ways.

Melissa Haak said...

I sometimes look at my two kids (3 and 5) and wonder, where did the chubby babies go? Where did these kids with ideas and opinions come from. It's bittersweet, because while I love who they are becoming I miss those little bits of baby that will never be seen again.

thanks for linking up!

This Heavenly Life said...

I love how excited you are to see your kids grow up :) They are lucky little boys, and in more than just this way. You are a wonderful mama :)

Corinne Cunningham said...

That is such a gift, to be able to see them in that moment :)

Hyacynth said...

I can hugely relate to you today on this!
Just last night E, 11.5 months, woke up at about 1:30 and would not go back to sleep for 45 minutes. He tossed and turned. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Normally, I sigh and I huff and I try to groggily entice him back to sleep as quickly as possible.
But last night, I sat up in bed, cradled my almost one year {GASP!} in my arms, and I rocked his little, big body.
And I thought to myself as I did that without trying to pry my eyes open and without huffing and puffing, oh, man. I'm not really in the thick of these baby days anymore in regard to sleep. He's basically a walking, kinda talking toddler who pretty much sleeps at night. And it shows in my nighttime parenting. And then I cried. lol.
It's those small moments in which a big shift happens that sometimes blindside you. I get this so much. I really do. Thanks so much for sharing, Jill.