Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever.
-Walt Disney
I’ve had two close friends contact me recently about big transitions coming up for their kids. One has her oldest starting high school and the other has her oldest starting middle school. Although these transitions themselves don’t take place until late summer, they are in the midst of parent meetings and class choices this time of year. They both said that their kids are so ready for this next step, yet as moms, they aren’t quite there yet.
I’ve been there too with my oldest. With my youngest, ironically, we’re both usually so ready for the next step. In this case, it’s middle school for us too, but we’re both looking forward to being finished with the elementary years. That being said, I’m sure there are things I will miss, but they often don’t show themselves without some distance, perspective and process time.
Now, I do have some distance, perspective and process time from the younger years, and here are some of my thoughts:
Things I miss about baby’s first year:
- Meeting each other for the first time
- The first moment of eye contact
- Super slow drive home from the hospital
- First smiles
- First laughs
- Exploring their toys
- Noticing the family pets
- Learning to move their little bodies
- First foods
- Snuggling in the rocking chair
- Sleeping through the night
Things I miss about the toddler years:
- Parallel play
- Noticing other kids
- Reading together
- Snuggle bugs at bedtime
- Listening to kid music
- Disney movie time
- Getting to know their little (and big!) personalities
- First full sentences
- First I love you
- Discovering their world
- Running everywhere
Things I miss about the preschool years:
- Starting school
- All the why questions
- Learning ABCs & 123s
- Making friends
- Play dates
- Them reading to me
- Mismatched clothes
- Playing dress up
- A love of all things Disney
- Holding hands
- Their growing imagination
Memories from the early years often come up for me when the teen and preteen years get hard. A friend used to say, “little kids little problems, big kids big problems.” I’d actually say that when you’re in the stage itself, they can all feel like big problems.
I really love looking back on the younger years to remind me of just how far we’ve all come and how much we’ve all grown and matured, both parents and kids alike!
