Last weekend I took my daughter down to London for the day. She wanted to browse around Camden Market, a far cry from our previous trips to see the Natural History Museum, Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. Shopping was the only thing on her mind. We did shop until we dropped, she flagged at around the 10 mile mark!
Last week I went along to a SATS workshop at my son’s school and in less than a month’s time, we’ll find out which secondary school he’ll be going to.
My babies are not little babies any more. At 14 and 11, they’re growing up, and it all seems very fast.
Some days I long to go back and do it all again. To have a day with a toddler and a new-born, or maybe a day when they’re running excitedly around a farm or castle, eager to discover everything and completely free in themselves.
I don’t want a do-over, I want us to end up exactly where we are today, but just to pop by for a few hours and hold them again, play with them again, talk to them again at those ages.
At some point, they stop running everywhere. At some point, they stop asking to be picked up. It just happens and you don’t realise how much you’ll miss it until it’s gone.
My girl’s around five foot seven now, my boy’s clearly going to be taller than all of us. Picking them up isn’t so easy these days!
I’d say I’ve always been quite good at letting go of things and living in the present. I’ve always known I have all I need in the Husband and the kids, but I think these days I’m more aware of treasuring these times, making things memorable for the kids, giving them my love, attention and advice.
They’re at those in between ages. They still need so much from me and are still children. Then on the other hand they are pushing to do things their ways as their personalities grow.
It’s a pleasure to see them growing. To see the people that they are becoming. And I’m doing all I can to remain a big part of their lives, as they quite rightly lean more and more on their friends and confide and take advice from them.
We have days out together, we have movie nights in, we have board games afternoons, we have ‘sleepovers’ most weekends and I do my best to take an interest in their interests. I’ve got to be honest, music comes easier to me than football, but I am trying!
They’ll always be my babies, no matter how tall, how old, how accomplished, how independent.
I know this, I just want to make sure that they always know it too.
They do grow up so quickly and even more so when they hit secondary school. I would love to have my girls little again just for a few days. x
Definitely, secondary school seems to be flying by! Just a few days, it’d be lovely xx