The things I wont miss...

It never fails. The sweet, empty-nester at the grocery store stops me to talk to the kids and always ends with some version of "Enjoy every moment. They grow up so fast!" And I get panicked. I KNOW they are growing up so fast and I am doing my best to relish as much as I possibly can. I sometimes picture my future and I see lots of "Remember when the kids were little and (fill in the blanks with memory of choice) - oh I miss that!" So, I have decided to make a list of the things about having small kids that I WONT miss for my future self to come back and read when I start to feel sorry for myself.

1. Shopping with kids.

I will NOT miss shopping with kids. This includes every form of shopping imaginable. - Grocery shopping usually consists of telling 1 grabby, begging-for-everything 5 year old "no, we're not buying that either" while simultaneously trying to keep a wiggly, screaming 14 month old contained to the shopping cart seat. After he screams and yanks at the belt for long enough, I usually give in and shop most of the time switching him from hip to hip while pulling the buggy behind me. Let me remind you how terribly painful this is for the back. Grocery shopping these days is a full contact sport. And its a miracle that I ever come home with enough ingredients to actually make a meal. I don't really have to opportunity to sit and study a list or compare products and prices, so I usually just have to hope some good stuff falls in my cart while I'm wrangling the kids.

Shopping for anything else is just as (if not more) difficult. Clothing, for instance, requires browsing and trying on clothes. It is kind of hard to pick out clothes while trying to, again, contain a 14 month old to a cart or stroller while telling Hayden repeatedly "No, we don't need that" or "Stop hiding in the clothing racks." Dressing rooms are equally fun... as I try to change clothes, assess the fit and look of the new clothes all while keeping 2 kids contained in a small square room with a filthy floor and lots of tiny "snacks" for the little one. Its usually just as I get down to my underwear when Garrett decides to crawl under the door and escape. You wont miss this future self. You wont.

2. Leaving the house with kids.

This should be an olympic sport. I would NOT win. It does not matter where we have to be or what time we have to be there, we are always scrambling out the door with shoes and jackets in hand, and un-wiped mouths. Garrett is still at the age of having to be carried to the car, and he is not a fan. As soon as I open the door to leave the house, he starts writhing uncontrollably to get down and play. It's not time to play, Garrett. We have to get in the car so we can all put our shoes and jackets on and I can wipe your mouths. Let's. Go. Now.

3. Poopy Diapers.

Needs no elaboration.

4. Sweeping the Floors.

These days, I have to sweep the floors a MINIMUM of seven times a day. I'm perhaps a 'little' OCD about things being clean and orderly, but crumbs and food on the floor really drive me bonkers. Sweeping usually goes like this: I sweep everything into a nice pile. Go to closet to get dust pan. Come to sweep up my pile. Discover that Garrett has played in it and eaten some of it and strewn it all back over the room. Yes, he can accomplish this in a matter of seconds. And it happens every. day.

5. Eating out with Kids.

Oh this is a fun one for sure. Eating out with kids usually looks like this:

Hayden - Sitting in a corner playing the iPhone, trying to eat salt, sugar or mustard directly out of the table dispenser, playing under the table, ordering food that he wont eat, etc etc etc. Oh don't forget the "When are we leaving? when are we leaving?" that he starts spewing just as Curtis and I finally get to start eating.

Garrett - Sitting in his highchair eating his food like an angel in my lap grabbing everything within reach, standing in the booth destroying everything on the table, trying to climb on the table, demanding to escape the table and walk around the restaurant, etc etc. At least he eats.

6. The inability to just quickly "run in" to somewhere and grab one thing.

Ha. Yeah right. Curtis still to this day doesn't understand this. "Hey babe, will you run by Walgreen's on your way home and grab some AAA batteries?" Suuuuuure honey. Let me go to Walgreen's, unstrap one wiggly (or sleeping) toddler from his carseat while the big one jumps out of the car and tries to run out in front of a car. Then I'll haul the small one across the parking lot while trying to keep Hayden in the realm of safety, go into the store, put Garrett in the shopping cart aaaaaaand.... refer back to number 1.

7. Constant fear.

Will he run into traffic? Get bitten by a spider? Choke on something? Be brainwashed by that toy/game/video? Fall out of the highchair? Down the stairs? Get ahold of a knife while I'm unloading the dishwasher? Pull a bookshelf down on himself? Catch a virus? Get under the cabinet and drink something poisonous?

I'm sure that each phase of their lives will bring different kinds of fears to the parents, but my biggest fear will always be "Did I raise them according to God's will? Do they know Him, because of us?"

I'm sure I will add to this list over time, but for now, these are the things that stick out. I know I am very blessed that my list doesn't include things like "not knowing where our next meal will come from" or anything like that. These are just the things that I can look back on to make myself feel better about my kids being grown.

There is no need to make a list of the things I WILL miss, because these are the things that will stand out in my heart forever.