'Tis The Season

No, it's not just that I am behind on blogging :).  It's just a small realization I had.  Honestly, it crept up on me so slowly, I am still holding my breath, waiting to see if it's real.  Are you ready?

Curt and I and the kids went out with some friends one morning and went climbing.

There it is.

That's it.

Huge, huh?

Man, it was for me.

For the past 5 years, we (mostly, I) have been housebound.  I am just not one of those moms who drags their kids everywhere.  I like my kids to have structure and routine but more importantly, I didn't like it.  I didn't like trying to go out and have fun when I had whiny, overtired kids.  I didn't enjoy carting my kids to meet friends when I couldn't keep one train of thought going because of interruptions.  So, my survival was to stay home and go out during nap and bed time.

The other day, 2 friends of ours wanted to go climbing.  It's the cool season, wonderful weather, beautiful day and I thought, "You know what?  I think we all can go."  So, I packed everyone in the car and drove 45 minutes out to the rock.  No meltdowns.  We stayed in the woods for 3 hours and everyone got to climb and run around the woods.  No crying, no whining, no complaining.  It was just plain fun.

I didn't have to pack diapers.  No bottles.  No special food.  Just a backpack of sandwiches and water.

I suddenly realized the time has come we have been waiting for for 5 years.  The time when we can slowly blossom as a family, come out of hiding and begin to get out there and do things together.  Sure, Elden (now 2.5) still naps but is now capable of going all morning without losing it because he's too overwhelmed/tired/over-stimulated.

And so, moms out there who think they will never leave the nursery because all they do is nurse, change diapers and put kids down for naps, the season will end.  It will be a bittersweet end as those sweet little babies grow but honestly, more sweet than bitter.  The time does pass.  They do grow.  You realize the baby season just wasn't your season.  And you find yourself not hating motherhood quite as much as you thought :).  You find that your kids are fun.  You're not quite as exhausted all the time.  You actually want to get out of the house.  And...wait for it...you can finally go to the bathroom All. By. Yourself.

It's true.  Take heart.  It's coming.

Children's Day!  Kind of redundant, since that's really 365 days/year.  It's just the one day where everything sugared is free...