Rewind Time

School is back in session for both the kids and I so finding the time (and energy) to post hasn’t been easy. I’m back to getting up at 5:30 AM but I haven’t adjusted too well-by 9 PM I’m usually slumped on the sofa while a dozen or so “to do” lists dance through my head, and adding blogging to that list seemed like just another chore. Then there is physical therapy twice a week-I found out that a little pain is not a good precursor to writing new posts… But I miss writing and connecting with all of you-writing makes me feel as if I’m this giant pitcher pouring all of my thoughts and feelings of the moment onto this page, and to me there’s no better means of stress relief.

I thought I would do a little rewinding today since my son turned eight on Tuesday and I can hardly believe it-in fact, I am sitting here thinking about how much things have changed. Here is my list:

-Gone are the once pudgy cheeks and legs-now he’s all arms and legs and he’s almost as tall as his sister.

-Gone are the slobbery kisses he used to give me because he couldn’t quite get how to “pucker up”-now I am the one doling out most of the kisses, but I still get my hug goodbye every morning.

-I remember when getting my son to talk was next too impossible (his sister did most of his talking for him)-now getting him not to talk is just as challenging. He seems to have an endless stream of ideas in his head that he has to get out. Things (from all one conversation) like this:

• Mom, how much air do we have-500%?
  
• Mom, if you went to the fridge and no food was in there, then went to the grocery store and it was closed, that would be a bummer, huh?
• Mom, how long can you live without food?
  
• Mom, can a person pass out? What does it feel like?
• Mom, I can see so well with these goggles it’s like magic! (I guess he got tired of my, "I don't knows" and confused looks with the other subjects...)
  

-Gone is the insatiable appetite for just about anything I would put in front of him-now I say things like, “You need to at least try it before you say you don’t like it,” “Take four more bites,” and “You need to eat some fruit not cookies.”

-Gone is the neat and tidy room with everything in its place-now everything is everywhere no matter how many containers I buy for him to pack his stuff in. Tonight I had to step over a half made Lego castle, several super hero action figures, clothing that just couldn’t make it to the laundry shoot, a pair of flip flops and his tennis shoes, and there was something behind the door but I was too tired to investigate.

Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and relive what was lost, if only for a little while, but there’s an old saying, “Time is like a handful of sand- the tighter you grasp it, the faster it runs through your fingers,” so I will marvel as my son reaches new milestones and watch as today’s norm changes tomorrow.