As a new mother and when my 3 children were young I thought that these days would last forever. Not only that but I have always had an excellent memory – so i took no care to write down funny events, cute sayings or even tear-jerking firsts! I really regret that now.
Today my almost 18 year old boy was relaxing after a hockey game and mentioned that Lord of the Rings was now on Netflix. I had a hundred things I needed to do today and Mr Fit was off running a half marathon in the beautiful Tollymore forest trails. But I sat (mostly) with him while he dozed and we watched the Fellowship of the Ring together Why? because he is precious to me and has grown up far too fast – his cute wee round baby face has now a chiseled jaw and acne. Whilst he still hungers for knowledge and used to believe everything I told him about the world and science and my faith etc now he is more likely to ask his mates than his parents – this is to be expected and normal teenage behaviour. But i miss the adoring & satisfied smile after he had learned something new from me.
My eldest girl is 15 years old. She is better at applying makeup and fake tan than I will ever be. When she was born I suddenly decided that pink was no longer disgustingly girly but perfect for my new little bundle of dark eyes and hair. She has been to the cinema tonight to see A Star is Born for the second time and cried her eyes out again! But as i was going to bed I heard he singing in her room. She has a beautiful voice and I stopped myself to take the time to listen and treasure it. We often take time to sing together to a favourite spotify playlist and maybe a little dancing if she is stressed with upcoming GCSEs and the angst of being a teen. I don’t always get the lyrics right and neither my singing or dancing are a patch on hers but it is precious bonding time and I treasure the laughing that usually follows.
My baby has just become a teenager and with that has come a pedantic and cheeky backchat! I call this being snarkly but she probably gets away with it more than the older two would have at the same age. Has my parenting become more chilled, worn down or have I just lowered my standards with each child? She has always had the best sense of humour & even when tiny, her face would actually light up with mischief as she plotted her comic antics. Tonight she asked me ‘have you ever read the whole dictionary?’ Eh, no! ‘Because after it, every other book is just a remix!’
or
Treasure the little things, because one day when you look back, you will realise that they were the big things.
AngeLisa Crafts 