Don't Blink

I love my kids. I wish they would stay little. But, no matter hard I try, they are growing up. The little, cute, and tender babies turn into toddlers then immediately into adults, as far as they are concerned. It seems like one day I was helping Kylie walk and now she wants to be little miss independent. I say, "Tough crap little girl, I enjoy being daddy. And that's what daddies do". I have a funny feeling that she will always be my little girl.

Kids have two types of "growing", growth spurts and mind spurts. Growth spurts kind of suck. It amazes me when you put little Johnny to bed, his jammies fit. Now in the morning he looks like Tom Hanks in Big. It now means that all those outfits you just bought, don't freaking fit anymore.

Now, mind spurts, I like. Mind spurts to me are when they do something today that would of never happened yesterday. I watch it happen to my daughter. Sometimes she just blows me away. Yesterday she was my little girl, today, she is giving me all the "gossip" from her kindergarten class. Why in the heck does kindergarten even have gossip? Why do they need drama? Has this world promoted drama as a part of life? When I went to kindergarten we had story time, play time, nap time, cookie and milk time. All in a half day. I was even so tired from all that, I would go home and take another nap. There was no drama, I didn't even learn how to spell drama until fourth grade. Drama was a word used to describe a play.

Back to the spurts.

My little Steven had a growth spurt mixed with a mind spurt. Yesterday, he was throwing green beans from his highchair, today he sits in a chair alone like a man.

Well... that's if you consider a 21 month old wearing a bib eating a hot dog while wearing a diaper, a man. I knew it was bound to happen. I just wasn't ready for this one. It hit me right between the eyes. He and I were home alone. I was making dinner for us and I said "Time to eat buddy!". He came into the kitchen, climbed into a chair, and gave me the "let's eat" look. I thought, "why not". We tried it, and it worked.

What's next?

"Steven, want to go for a ride?" And he drives???

I told my lovely wife what had happened when she got home. She wasn't pleased. Let's face it. If it was up to her, he would still be sleeping in a bassinet next to the bed with his legs hanging out. She has a TINY thing about letting go.

It's a simple reminder to slow down and take a look around every once in a while. Time stops for no one. Blink and it's gone.

Bill Cosby once said.

"The past is a ghost, the future a dream, and all we ever have is now."

Enjoy it while you can. And have a great day.

Steve