Bittersweet Moments

When you're a parent, you live your life for your kids. You care for them. You teach them. You help them develop into the people that they are going to be. Some of your proudest moments are when you see your kids accomplish something new on their own. 

But those are also some of your saddest moments. It means that your babies aren't babies any more. It means that they're one step closer to independence. It reminds you that they are growing up, and that one day they will fly away.

It happens much too quickly, too. One day they're babies...

You blink once, and see how much they've grown...

And then before you know it, your babies have been replaced by these wonderful little people. You're proud of who they have become, but at the same time you marvel at how quickly it flew by.

My little people have recently entered a new phase of their lives, and I'm handling it about like you'd expect. 

Our "morning routine" changed this week. In the past, they would always wake up before me in the morning and either play or watch cartoons until I told them it was time to get ready for school.

But this past Monday they surprised me. This time when they came into my room a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off, not only were they already completely dressed (shoes and all) but they had already brushed their teeth too. No more help needed with the toothpaste or shoelaces, it would seem. 

They still needed a little bit of help with their hair, and they needed me to get their vitamins (because the lids are child-proof, but also because "we know we're not supposed to touch those on our own.") 

So I still got to feel a little bit useful. But I still recognized the moment, and what it represented. And as proud as I was of their growing independence, my heart still ached just a little bit.