growing up

I had published this post awhile back. This is by far my favorite post, and I hope you dont mind me reposting . A buud of mine is expecting thier first child & when I read thier blog post I became sentimental & wanted to re-share this one.

Growing up

My son sat up for the first time today. Last week he weighed in at 20 pounds so he can face foreword in his car seat now. My children are growing up so quickly. To quickly. In each stage I see them in I think to myself "this is my favorite stage." But I'd be lying if I didn't say I missed the last stage with all my heart.



My precious daughter has learned what things are funny. When she sees or hears something funny, she'll laugh or say "that's silly Daddy". She heard someone tell a knock knock joke recently. She came up with one of her own & now tells me it 20-30 times a day. She says "Daddy, knock knock." When I say "who's there" she replies "it's me!". She says this with so much glee I can't help but to laugh. I laugh even after hearing it a thousand times.



It's so wonderful to see them growing up. But I so desperately wish they'd slow down. I do believe my wife & I are lucky that she & I don't take for granted the times we have with our children. We even catch ourselves smiling at one another when our children are having a fit or tantrum. It's not that we spoil our children when they are bad or encourage their misbehavior. It's that she & I are realistic enough to know we will look back at these moments in fondness & miss them.



When my daughter was 6 months old I took her to visit my Grandmother in Hobbs. It was just my daughter & I. My wife was stuck in Santa Fe with work. The 1st day there I gave my princess some food that gave her horrible gas pains. I held her all night as she cried. She cried louder than I thought any child as small as her could. Consequently my daughter & I were both tired & cranky the rest of the trip. But I remember that night as one of the most precious moments of her childhood because in between her crying fits she would wad up my shirt in her tiny little hand & keep hold of me as she slept. If I tried to move or lay her down she'd feel it because she'd have hold of my shirt. So she'd wake up & start crying again. I ended up not getting up or even moving much the entire night. I just held her up against my chest, rocking her gently in my Grandmothers lazy boy chair.



5 weeks ago my son who is 9 months old now started grabbing my shirt & pulling on me until I'd pick him up. He'd sometimes pull so hard he would almost pull himself out of my wife's arms. It's gotten to the point where he's so strong that when he pulls if I don't pick him up right away he'll stretch the collar of my T-shirt. Now most of my shirts have stretched collars. I'm not annoyed by that in the least. If anything I'm proud of the fact. The shirts I wear with the ruined collars give me an excuse to talk about my son.



Today my wife & I took my son & daughter to ride the train at the Albuquerque botanical garden. While on the train ride my son grabbed hold of my shirt, but this time instead of pulling harder & more forcefully until I gave in to his demand, he crawled into my lap by himself. This was a first. A very very big first. I'm excited he is progressing as a child should be. It means he's healthy & happy. But I became a little teary-eyed when he did that. I became emotional partly because of what he accomplished. But also partly because he grew out of a stage. There was no warning, no baby steps where we could watch his progress. He simply decided he was ready to move into another stage. As usual I wasn't ready. Them growing into new stages & me getting teary-eyed seems to be a common occurrence around our house.



I had no idea when each child was born I'd become more sentimental & unable to keep my emotions to myself. I must say, the birth of my children has made me a more sensitive person. I cry much easier now than before my babies were born. My eyes fill up at the drop of a dime now, & not just when it pertains to them. Anytime. I don't think it's that I'm weaker now. I think it's that my children opened up a part of my heart that I never knew existed. My children have made me a better man. They've taught me how to love unconditionally & how to forgive. How to better respond when I'm angered or slighted against. How to give more willingly to those in need. All these things God has been wanting me to do long before my children were born. Come to think of it, perhaps the biggest change since the birth of my 1st child 2 years 10 months ago hasn't been in my children after all. Perhaps it's been in me.



Cherish all the joys in your life. But take a moment to recognize where those moments came from & give thanks to Him.