I’m having a moment.
Gwyneth and Cal are napping and I am doing nothing. Actually, I am sitting on the couch with tears rolling down my cheeks because I am that emotional. Always.
Why, you might be wondering?
Because of a stinkin’ episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills! How embarrassing!
The episode is the wedding of one of the housewives’ daughters. The wedding is absolutely gorgeous. The bride looks absolutely perfect. She’s blonde, like Gwyneth, and I can’t help but wonder what Gwyneth’s wedding day will be like one day. What she will look like in her wedding gown. Who she will marry. Where she will want to say her vows.
But the real kicker was when the mother-of-the-bride said that watching her daughter and husband walk down the aisle was a dream. That we spend our entire lives pushing our kids out the door, but she’d give anything to rewind the clock twenty-five years and do it all over again.
This really got to me.
Sometimes I find myself wishing my kids were older. Wishing they were onto the next stage or phase in life. Wishing they were out of diapers. Wishing they could both speak. Wishing the tantrums away. Wishing they’d sleep longer. Wishing they could play together without constant intervention. Wishing away their childhood.
I need to stop it. Because before i know it, it will be over. It will be away. There won’t be anymore squishy baby hugs and slobbery baby kisses. There won’t be any more “firsts” that make me squeal in delight. There won’t be any more baby giggles and belly laughs. And I will be sad.
And before I know it, I will be watching my daughter on her wedding day…giving her away to another man.
(Okay, let’s be real, I will share, but never completely GIVE AWAY.)
So living in the moment is going to be a goal of mine. No more wishing away their babydom. While I do look forward to certain things in the future, I need to savor the now.
Yeah, I like that. Savor the now.
So with that, go savor the now and appreciate all that is beautiful in today!
This is sooo true! I think I realized this when Reese was about 2 years old. Almost everyday since then I have asked her to STOP growing up! Even when she was throwing eggs on the kitchen floor to watch them crack, even when I would catch her hiding in her closet eating brown sugar by the spoonful, even when she took a sharpie to her bedspread because none of the mermaids had belly buttons “and they need belly buttons mommy”!! Every time she says something new or super intelligent, I realize she is growing older, every time I see her pants are now high-waters, it scares the crap out of me. I get teary very often when she does something sweet or to make me proud and she always asks me why I am crying, I simply tell her because I am so happy that she is mine. You are so right, savor the now, live in this moment…
I love this, Hilary! Thank you so much for sharing. I too get extremely sad when the kiddos outgrow clothing. And I have been holding onto Gwyneth’s Babydom in certain areas, not wanting her to be a “big girl” yet. Your response is incredibly sweet. 🙂