Saturday, August 15, 2009

Don't Blink

Over the past 25 months there have been many times where Mrs. LIAYF and I have had long, difficult days of parenting. Of course there were the sleepless nights, the frightening illnesses and the constant hovering in fear of our son hurting himself while learning how to crawl, walk, and run. At times, even the smallest step forward in a developmental stage seemed insurmountable and that Lukas would never progress and be able to do it for himself.
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I know most of my readers are parents and you have been there. Those are the moments, in the trenches, where you earn the right to call yourself a parent. Time can seem to stand still. You feel at times like you are trying to walk through a field of quicksand. But you persevere because you love and adore your child. They are the world to you and though difficult, you wouldn't have it any other way.


But then something happens and you realize, little by little, that the things have changed. That even though it seemed like you would be raising a completely helpless child until the end of days, what you actually have is an independent little person.

You have yourself a child who wants to use the adult toilet instead of his potty. A child who can actually help make his own meals. A child who wants to build a train track and will actually play with it for several days without ripping it apart and tossing it about the living room. A child who is speaking to you in eight and nine word sentences, and making sense.

Then you also realize how amazingly fast that transition occurred. That all those moments when you were tired or were convinced you had had enough, but still put your child's needs above your own, those were well worth it. Your baby is now a little boy.

And you realize in that moment that you are happy (and a little sad too).

17 comments:

Captain Dumbass said...

I saw a little baby while we were out at dinner tonight. I can barely remember my animals being that small.

Surfer Jay said...

Thats awesome.

But i cant wait for the day when diapers are gone, i no longer have to cook every meal for him, and he can talk to all the little old ladies in the grocery store himself.

JennyMac said...

We are very close to being out of diapers so while I love this post...I am not quite there yet. LOL.

Ed said...

There will come a day when he will wake you and say, "Dad, I'm hungry." And you can say, "Go fix yourself a bowl of cereal," and roll over and get 15 more minutes. Now that's a happy thought.

Lady Mama said...

Yes! You put it so well. It does go by ridiculously fast, even though some moments feel like they might last forever.

I'm caught somewhere between feeling desperately sad that our second (and probably last) son is almost out of the baby phase, and really really wanting to move forward.

DCUrbanDad said...

Doesn't that mean it's time for number 2.

Dan said...

I'm currently investing heavily in a project to invent a time machine.

I've got to get those days back somehow.

SciFi Dad said...

I'm still stuck on the fact that he makes sense. I cannot even imagine my kid making sense.

(Also? I have something for you over at my place today, and unlike most people, when I say that, it means something good, not some quasi-legible clip art.)

PJ Mullen said...

I am constantly amazed at how fast my little man has been growing. All the new stuff he learns to do is awesome, but does make me a little sad for the time when he was first born. Now, if we could only move past the diaper stage, because I could definitely be done with changing them.

Martin said...

Awwwww...

Lindsay said...

In our house, usually that did mean it was time for one more. But now that I know 4 kids is enough,I know how you feel. I am actually sad at the thought of ditching my diaper bag, yet happy at the thought of ditching my diaper bag!

FilmFather said...

Yep, true, yes, tell me about it, mmm hmm, true, and oh yeah.

And that last line? Absolutely.

Lynn said...

When I was in the diaper days, and the staying up crying at nights with my baby and thinking I would never sleep again, I couldn't wait til that stage was over. Well my baby will be 21 in Sept, and I would love to go back and change those diapers again. I know you hear this alot but really enjoy it because it does go by really really fast.

Super Mega Dad said...

I hear ya, man! You wait and wait for them to be independent, then once they are you wish they were still little helpless babies. ;)

I'm still waiting for my kids to be able to clean up after themselves.

Although, looking at my home office, maybe I'll be waiting a LONG TIME for that little thing. :)

ericdbolton said...

My 3 y/o daughter can scramble eggs.. My wife doesn't like her independence..

Dad Stuff said...

I too love the milestones. The feeding, dressing, walking and talking benchmarks all made me think, "Now there's one less thing I have to do."
But I was wrong.
(I did celebrate when I no longer had to buy diapers, though)

James (SeattleDad) said...

@Captain - Yeah, it goes by so darn fast.

@Jay - We are getting close to a couple of those milestones. He can definitely woo the old ladies now.

@JennyMac - We are getting close too. But it will still be a while I'm sure.

@Ed - Now that will be a wonderous time indeed.

@Lady Mama - Yes, it is bittersweet. Thanks.

@DC - Not quite yet.

@Dan - Come back to today at my house when it is finished and have coffee waiting for me.

@SciFi - Relatively speaking of course.

@PJ - Getting past diapers will be huge.

@Xbox - Yeah.

@Falk Family - I am ready to ditch ours. Thanks for stopping by.

@Film Father - oh yeah. Definitley. For sure.

@Lynn - Thanks for stopping by. I can't even imagine Lukas turning 21. Seems so far away.

@Super Mega Dad - LOL. Yeah that is the same with me. Maybe he can learn to clean up after me too.

@Eric - I'll have to teach Lukas that trick. Thanks for stopping by.

@Dad Stuff - Yes, the diapers can go any time. No bittersweet about them.