Time to Lace Up

Today marked the first time I went on a walk with one of my children when I was the one who had to struggle to keep up. To be fair, Ann was riding her bike and I made the mistake of thinking I would just walk and keep up with her. That isn't easy to do when you're wearing sparkly flip flops and jeans!

As I trailed behind her, I couldn't help but think how much our ride/walk symbolized my life as a mother right now. Slowly but surely, I'm leaving the season of sippy cups and afternoon naps. (I hope that completely leaving behind afternoon naps will be very slow in coming!) Sometimes I find myself struggling to keep up.

Often, I'll be getting ready to do something for one of my children and they will have already done it. My oldest makes her bed, fills her water cup, feeds the dog, sets the table, sorts her laundry and more. Yes, I like that she does these things. After all, we've trained her to do them. However, with each new skill she learns, I'm reminded that she is ever so surely decreasing her dependence on me. Of course, that is how it is supposed to be and I have every intention of celebrating with her even if I occasionally wipe away a tear or two.

This week we will be going to her end-of-year PreK program. She is registered for Kindergarten and I know it won't be long until we're shopping for school supplies and packing her lunch for her first day of school. You see my thoughts haven't kept up with her development. In my mind she is still a three-year-old meeting her little sister for the first time as she holds her one-year-old brother's hand. She is the two-year-old who eagerly anticipated our move back to Kansas. She is the one-year-old who had a most impressive vocabulary. In my head, she is most definitely not a five-and-a-half-year-old who grows less dependent by the day.

Apparently my mind is wearing some flip flops. I suppose it's time to get myself in a running-shoe frame of mind. After all, as much as I'm going to miss these toddler/preschooler days, I sure don't want to miss any of the fun that's sure to come.

Time to lace up.