One day when Carolena was still just a little munchkin in her crib I went into her room to find her standing naked from the waist down holding a diaper in her hand. "Hi Mommy. Poop" she said while casually extending the foul diaper in my direction.
With each new phase that my children enter I can choose to be sad or excited. Nils has outgrown the infant swings and bouncers. Carolena no longer uses her old standby, "What you doin' here?!" to get my attention every five minutes (or seconds) as she did a year or so ago. Shoes and clothes and toys are outgrown. I can choose to cling to these things, tucking them away where moth and rust destroy. There is a certain temptation in that: the temptation to cling to their infancies and childhoods. But, it's not how I want to live. I choose to do my best to live my life in the present. To live with my arms open wide, allowing things to flow in and out. I choose to give these things away, knowing that other babies can enjoy them. I choose to celebrate the wonder that my children are growing each day. I give thanks that they are healthy and strong and moving forward. Because, let's face it, they are moving forward whether or not I'm moving along with them.
This morning Carolena came into the living room and announced to me that she had wet through her nighttime diaper. "Well," I replied, "why don't you take it off and get dressed for school then?" She agreed that this would be the best course of action and went on her merry way. Later in the day I found the saturated diaper not in the trashcan but rather in her bed.
Each new phase brings new challenges. Or perhaps... more of the same?
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