A few weeks ago I found myself getting super annoyed at my daughter. She will be 4 in three weeks and for the last 6 months she has had some unusual requests....
"Mommy, can you feed me like a baby?"
"Mommy, can you carry me to bed like a baby?"
"I just need you to hold my hands." (Always asked while she is going #2)
She always seems to ask these things right when I am in the middle of trying to do something, like eating dinner. Part of me wanted to yell, "I just want to finish a meal when all of my food is still actually hot!" and then it dawned on me.... how much longer is she she going to ask me to do things like this? How long until she is pushing me out of the bathroom so she can have some privacy while she uses it? How much longer will I be strong enough to actually carry her like a baby? And do I want to miss the last time I get to feed her bites of a meal because I was so selfish?
We get moments in life with our kids. I will always have my daughter, but at the end of my life on earth I will look back on moments with her. From her first breath to my last, our relationship will transition from her needing me to do everything for her, to her wanting me to do things for her, to me wanting her to want me to do things with her, to me wanting her to do things for me and finally to her doing everything for me. We get moments with our kids. Just moments. And I want to enjoy during and look back on every moment knowing that I lived and loved to the fullest.
So now I answer her silly (and and usually inconvenient) requests with, "I would love to!" And in all truth I do.
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