My Baby is 5 Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the big day..... my baby will turn 5! Seems like I've been a parent forever in some ways. It's really only been a little over a decade. I honestly can't really remember a life without my children, and the full life that mothering brings. However, as I was tucking my little sweetheart into bed tonight, I told her to "sleep well, this is her last night to sleep as a 4 year old!". For whatever reason, it just HIT me, that I no longer have babies, toddlers OR preschoolers in my home! When in the world did that happen?

I now have a home with 3 children who are pretty much self-sufficient. There are no longer diapers, pull ups, or baby toys around my home. My children all brush their own teeth, get themselves dressed, load themselves in the van (mostly!), keep themselves occupied, play on their own. They don't need me to pick them up to wash their hands, or wash their faces, or tie their shoes. (dd can't tie shoes yet - but she doesn't wear many shoes with ties...... so I'm sure I'll go through another shoe-tying phase again when it's tennis shoe weather!)

Little Miss Wonderful is an enormous blessing to me. She brings me such joy. At the same time, she astounds me with her confidence, how "settled" she is in her own skin. She truly knows who she is, and she's not afraid to be herself! I see such strong character qualities in her, and my challenge is to keep them growing in the right direction. Any of you who have been around her know that this is a *true challenge*. Tonight, as I said to her, wistfuly "Tomorrow you're going to be 5!", she asked "Why is that sad mom?" I said "I don't know sweetheart, it just means that I'm done with babies." To that, she matter-of-factly-replied, "Well, you know mom..... it's just God's plan. Mom's have babies, and they grow up! It's not sad!" Wise beyond her years.

While I will miss the baby days (which I never thought I'd say when I was in the thick of sleep deprivation and sheer physical exhaustion!), I am also going to bed tonight looking forward to the new season of mothering that I am officially entering: Being a mother of all school-aged children!

It's a strangely liberating feeling.

Yet, at the same time - everything I was told is true: As a parent, you go from being physically exhausted, to being mentally exhausted. My oldest will be 13 in about a month....... and TRUST ME - it's HARDER to parent older children than when they're babies. It only parenting could be as simple as it was when they were babies! The stakes are higher when they're older. Things aren't as black and white. Everything you think you "know" and have "gained in experience" as a parent in the first decade of the child's life is thrown out the window when they hit the preteen years. With my older boys, I navigate a lot of unknown waters....... some that feel awfully treacherous! Parenting preteens is not for the faint of heart........ you've got to be prepared to throw away every preconceived notion you've ever had with regards to what your child will "be like", and instead, be willing to embrace who they ARE, cultivate that, and have enough grace (and courage!) to grow into the individuals they are meant to become.

No, mothering isn't for the faint of heart. Yet, I can't imagine giving my life in any other way. Being my husband's wife, and my children's mother has been more deeply satisfying and more deeply meaningful than I could have ever imagined. I feel sorry for the feminists..... they're really missing out on the good stuff of life!

Happy Birthday My Precious Daughter!

Shauna