Realization

Tonight I was putting a puzzle together with the kids. It was made by my mom from a collage of photographs of the kids from several years ago. The realization hit me of how quickly the time goes by. I get so worried, at times, about the day to day challenges of life. I spend a lot of time worring about the kids, the house, meals, animals, our budget, schedules etc. Tonight I could see how quickly the time is going. Soon our beautiful children will be grown and gone. I will wonder if I did all I could for them. I will long for their happiness...and I will miss them terribly. I will miss the spills and the dirty footprints. I will miss the little gifts they always give me...from their precious smiles, to the wildflower bouqets, their handdrawn notes and pictures, little homemade treats, the sparkling rocks, etc. I will miss their hugs and kisses. I will miss the cute, the funny, and probably even the obnoxious things they say. I felt a desperate longing to cling to the moments that I have with them...to fill them with joy. How I love my sweet little ones! I am so very, very grateful to be a mother! LaMonte could sense how I was feeling (probably not too hard since I was sobbing about not having enough time with my babies.) He brought them all along with us on our date night. We went to a little Mexican restaurant in Carthage and stuffed ourselves full of chips and salsa and other yummy food. It was a priceless evening together.