I spent the weekend with our newest nephew, a baby boy who is almost four months old, and was unsurprised to find that the memories of when my two kids were little came flooding back.

• The baby cooing
• The sleepless nights
• The baby smiles
• The mastitis (possibly the sickest I’ve ever been)
• The start of solid foods (and sleeping through the night!)
• The incessant crying
• The baby rolling across the room
• The baby with a broken collar bone at birth
• The baby crawling
• The baby choking on breast milk and being rushed to the hospital
• The baby sitting up
• The jaundice baby
• The baby walking

**And so fast, on to the toddler years and beyond…

This baby visit also brought up some jealous feelings from my youngest (as well as from the dog!). Both seemed to feel a bit neglected with the attention on someone new. My son even stated after the baby left that we really needed to spend more time together. This got me thinking about another recent life transition related to my kids…

When we were living overseas, the store I absolutely missed the most (can you guess which one?) was… TARGET! To the point where, when we would travel back to the States to visit family and friends, I would set aside a full day for Target shopping.

So, I was a little surprised that when we moved back to the States, that when I walked into my local Flower Mound, Texas Target store on Monday mornings, my favorite time to shop during the week as it’s pretty empty, I walked in and I felt sad! Which was a little shocking and surprising given how much I longed for my Target shopping trips while we were abroad.

It took this occurring for a good month before I finally realized what was missing- in this case it was actually who was missing- my kids! Before we lived overseas, they were little and one, if not both, of them was always with me on my shopping excursions.

Now, they are both school-aged. So, while most people get a slow change from bringing kids with them on outings to not bring them along, I had a huge gap in time! Just another reminder of how quickly our kids grow and change, and how as parents we sometimes get stuck in “the ways things used to be” mode. Again, not that I’d change where they are now (well, minus maybe some of the recent parent-teacher meetings!), as I do love seeing them grow and change into who they are truly meant to be in life.

But, after spending the weekend with a sweet new baby, I was reminded of how I sometimes do miss those tiny baby days. And I sometimes do miss those first smiles, and fun crawlers, and little explores walking on their two little feet. And I sometimes do miss my little shoppers who used to keep me company, when I’m now shopping alone on a Monday morning (usually surrounded by moms and their own little shoppers).

But, I try to “be here now” in this present moment, and I try to really appreciate each and every day with my ever changing and growing kids. However, I do think that sometimes it’s good to reminisce and remember the good times and the trying times, as it helps me to be more appreciative and grateful for all the amazing gifts in my life today.

In keeping with the memories that are flooding back today, one of my favorite children’s books is called, If I Could Keep You Little… by Marianne Richmond. Both of my kids actually banned me from reading this to them, as I used to cry each and every time I tried to get through it (and I actually still do!). It’s a beautifully written book about the push and pull between our kids wanting to grow up too fast and parents wanting to slow down time and keep our kids little.

So, when the memories of years gone by come flooding back, what’s one thing in your life today that you are so very grateful for, right here, right now?