Changing Times

You must speak to be heard, but sometimes you have to be silent to be appreciated.~ Author Unknown ~

You know what I miss most now that my children are teenagers - I miss those cute little bits of wisdom that they come out with that always make you laugh. I heard one of those little bits of wisdom at the shops today and I had to restrain myself from laughing out loud.

Young father was helping two toddlers out of the car (both probably around 3 or 4 years of age and both boys which took me back to when my boys were that age) Young child with all the wisdom that a toddler can possess said to his dad 'Dad you know that you have to say yes because mum is the boss and she's bigger than you' I have no idea what dad was meant to be saying yes to but it lightened my heart and made me yearn for when my children were younger.

My boys are all teenagers or young adults now and I enjoy that I can have adult conversations with them about meaningful things but I do miss those little cute comments that they used to always come out with, some times they astound you with their brilliance and other times amuse you with their candid chat.

I spent the week after Christmas with my family in Renmark and had the joy of looking after my 2 year old nephew while my brother and sister-in-law both worked. I love the hugs and the total joy that he views the world with. He absolutely idolises the ground that his cousins walk on and seeing my 'macho' boys taking the time to play with him and look after him was a joy.

My brother and sister-in-law came down last weekend for 2 nights and my nephew was asleep when they arrived late on the Friday night so they put him straight into bed. Imagine my joy the next morning when I walked into his room because I could hear him chatting away and he leapt into my arms when he realised where he was.

There is nothing more special then seeing a child's face light up when they see you. My nephew is a four hour drive away now and I miss watching him grow up and discover new things. I love babies and toddlers and would have had a tribe if hubby hadn't put his foot down and said 4 boys between us was enough. We have a son each and then two sons together, a case of his, mine and ours. Now I just have to borrow other people's and wait for my grandchildren to arrive.

We should all cherish our children when they are young because they grow up so quickly and you can never replace those awesome moments. My grandson is 19 weeks off being born and I simply can't wait to be a nana because then I get to experience all those wonderful moments again.

Children keep us young whether their our own or borrowed - so here's to being 'forever young'.

Cheers, Fi