Long Days and Short Years

I was reading a post about just how quickly the time passes with young when it happened. I was nodding my head in agreement as I read the post knowing that in just a matter of weeks another school year will end. Then, I heard a little voice calling for me. Well, she wasn't so much as calling for me as she was shrieking for me.

If you're a parent, you know that accidents happen daily, if not hourly. Unfortunately, many of them happen in the bathroom, especially when preschoolers are too busy to stop their play. So, with the blog reading fresh in my mind, I took a deep breath and headed upstairs already knowing what I would find.

I tried to remember how fleeting this time is. I really, really did. Yet, I just can't fathom that I'll ever miss cleaning accidents off the bathroom floor, or even worse, peeling wet clothes off my children. Yuck! I was frustrated, but I swallowed the worst of my annoyance as I helped my daughter in the bath.

Only moments later I was rewarded with a sweet-smelling and happy four-year-old. As she happily played in the bath, I again believed that it's possible to cherish these parenting years. I was thankful for the reminder that these sometimes long days add up to some very short years. And yet, I was also thankful for children who sometimes make yucky messes. It makes the sweet parts so much sweeter. Not to mention, it somewhat eases the sadness I feel when I think of how quickly they grow. Just when I want to freeze time, my children do something that makes me think I'll let them age another year or two.

So for tonight, I'm savoring holding my preschooler as I smell her freshly washed hair. I'm loving her little hugs and requests for just one more kiss. I'm relishing my son shamelessly giving me a kiss before he heads to school. I'm adoring my oldest daughter reaching for my hand not caring who is watching. And yet, I'm also somewhat foolishly hoping that I might have just cleaned up the last bathroom accident by one of my children. Hey, a girl can dream!