it is a glorious day. February 29 (a fun day anyway since it only occurs every four years), 65 degrees, sunny, breezy, birds chirping, glorious. I dropped Joe off at school this morning and went to Target where I wandered around aimlessly and spent way too long just browsing. I decided to go for a run and then went back home to pick up Emmy and take her for a nice, long, relaxing walk. We were almost home when it happened. I saw her. She was a young, cute mommy taking her small children for a walk on a beautiful spring day. She looked tired and gave me a small smile and wave as she pushed her new baby in a stroller with her little boy (probably around 3 years old) and girl (maybe 2ish) pushing a baby stroller of her own and laughing as she chased her big brother.
I literally stopped in my tracks and watched them and it took my breath away how much it hurt to know that those days are behind me. My beautiful boys are so independent and we still go on walks but they usually involve Ben on a bicycle waaaayyy far ahead of us and Joey on his own bike, furiously peddling to keep up. And I trail behind them. Watching them and trying to keep up, hoping that my watchful eyes and prayers are enough to protect them when they seem so far away from me.
I understood in that moment of watching this sweet little family, what it was like for all the people who would smile and watch me play with my boys when they were so small. Several would tell me how precious those years were and to cling to every moment, both good and bad. "The days are long but the years go fast" they would say and I would just smile and nod as though I understood. But I didn't then. And now I do. I am that person with the smile who understands how tired a young mommy is but who is so jealous of her at the same time. There is nothing better on earth than taking a walk with your children on the first warm sunny day of spring. I am so grateful that I can honestly say that I embraced so many opportunities to enjoy life with my little people when they were young enough to enjoy it with me. Now they would rather be with their friends and that is totally fine because that is absolutely as it should be. I am so proud of them and love them so much and it just really struck me today how we are entering into a new phase in our lives. Joey will be in school in a year and a half and I honestly don't know what my days will look like when both boys are gone every day. I know everything will be okay and we will find new awesome moments to treasure and look forward to. But I know I will always remember the sweetness of those spring morning walks in the sunshine with the two most important people in the world. I am feeling truly blessed this morning to be a mom and even more grateful to be a mom to Ben and Joe.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Ben and Joeisms
We have been too busy living life to blog about it but just a quick catch up: January and February were grand. Ben started basketball at Thatcher through Indy Parks. He loves it and Joey loves going to his games as he runs around with his buddies and acts big the whole time.
Dean and I went to Las Vegas with a group of friends in January to celebrate a 21st birthday. We had a nice time getting away from normal life and having a lot of rest and relaxation (for me) and getting a gambling fix (for Dean). The boys enjoyed their time spent with the many, many people who made our trip possible! We are so lucky to have a plethora of people who love us and love our kids.
We celebrated a lot of family birthdays in January: Uncle Craig, Great-Grandma, Dean and Bampaw. There was much partying.
Joey had his 4-year checkup in January and his stats EXACTLY matched Ben's at 4 years, kind of strange. He weighed 46 pounds and is 3 feet 5 inches tall.
February has brought very mild temperatures so we have enjoyed a lot of time outside with walking Emmy around the block, trips to the park and even a hike at Holliday Park. Despite the nice weather, the sick germs that alway track us down, it seems, in February have managed to find us. Fortunately, we haven't had anything major, just colds (all of us), a sinus infections (me), ear infections (Ben and Joe), tonsillitis (Ben), a weird fever virus (Joe), etc. No fun, but relatively harmless in the big picture and, as always, the one healthy person in the house (Dean) is the one person who did NOT get a flu shot this past fall. Hmmmm.
Other than that, life is same old same old at our house, which is pretty darn good. We are blessed with great friends that keep our days filled with fun. One of our favorite new traditions this year is an every-other-week playdate with a group of friends. We rotate houses and there are nine kids and six mommies that get together from about 10:30 a.m.- 1 p.m. We have lunch, the kids go wild and the mom's chat, sometimes share a devotion, somtimes cry, most often laugh, and just have a really nice time. We also still have monthly get-togethers with the DeLisles and Matelics, which is always a highlight of the month for all of us.
Joey starts swim lessons this week with his best buddies Macy and Drew and Benny has one more week of basketball before the playoffs...wrapping up just in time for Ben to play spring soccer and both boys to play spring baseball. Our calendar is already a bit overwhelming.
I know this was a boring post with no pictures to entertain and break up the rambling but I needed to get back into the habit of updating our blog. I will close with two fun stories from the boys.
First, Ben came home from school Friday having won a John Deere baseball cap at All Pro Dad's that morning. I told him I thought the hat was really cool. He responded that I could have it because "I don't really like tractors, Mom. Or deer." Can you say city boy?!
Dean and I went out with friends last night and the boys spent the night at nana and bampaw's. Joe asked Dean this morning what we did. Dean responded that we had gone to a party but it was all old people. Joe was confused, "but mommy's not old?" My favorite kid.
I will try to be better about blogging but no promise. Our days are getting fuller by the minute and I can barely keep up with the boys let alone stop and write about their antics!
Dean and I went to Las Vegas with a group of friends in January to celebrate a 21st birthday. We had a nice time getting away from normal life and having a lot of rest and relaxation (for me) and getting a gambling fix (for Dean). The boys enjoyed their time spent with the many, many people who made our trip possible! We are so lucky to have a plethora of people who love us and love our kids.
We celebrated a lot of family birthdays in January: Uncle Craig, Great-Grandma, Dean and Bampaw. There was much partying.
Joey had his 4-year checkup in January and his stats EXACTLY matched Ben's at 4 years, kind of strange. He weighed 46 pounds and is 3 feet 5 inches tall.
February has brought very mild temperatures so we have enjoyed a lot of time outside with walking Emmy around the block, trips to the park and even a hike at Holliday Park. Despite the nice weather, the sick germs that alway track us down, it seems, in February have managed to find us. Fortunately, we haven't had anything major, just colds (all of us), a sinus infections (me), ear infections (Ben and Joe), tonsillitis (Ben), a weird fever virus (Joe), etc. No fun, but relatively harmless in the big picture and, as always, the one healthy person in the house (Dean) is the one person who did NOT get a flu shot this past fall. Hmmmm.
Other than that, life is same old same old at our house, which is pretty darn good. We are blessed with great friends that keep our days filled with fun. One of our favorite new traditions this year is an every-other-week playdate with a group of friends. We rotate houses and there are nine kids and six mommies that get together from about 10:30 a.m.- 1 p.m. We have lunch, the kids go wild and the mom's chat, sometimes share a devotion, somtimes cry, most often laugh, and just have a really nice time. We also still have monthly get-togethers with the DeLisles and Matelics, which is always a highlight of the month for all of us.
Joey starts swim lessons this week with his best buddies Macy and Drew and Benny has one more week of basketball before the playoffs...wrapping up just in time for Ben to play spring soccer and both boys to play spring baseball. Our calendar is already a bit overwhelming.
I know this was a boring post with no pictures to entertain and break up the rambling but I needed to get back into the habit of updating our blog. I will close with two fun stories from the boys.
First, Ben came home from school Friday having won a John Deere baseball cap at All Pro Dad's that morning. I told him I thought the hat was really cool. He responded that I could have it because "I don't really like tractors, Mom. Or deer." Can you say city boy?!
Dean and I went out with friends last night and the boys spent the night at nana and bampaw's. Joe asked Dean this morning what we did. Dean responded that we had gone to a party but it was all old people. Joe was confused, "but mommy's not old?" My favorite kid.
I will try to be better about blogging but no promise. Our days are getting fuller by the minute and I can barely keep up with the boys let alone stop and write about their antics!
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